Moon and Star
by intheinkpot
Summary: Eva breaks out of bording school to find her father. What she doesn't expect is encountering a Lupanian teenager who comes with her to Alwas and changes everything.
1. The Lupanian Boy

**Disclaimer: I don't own Oban Star-racers. I do own Remus and Lupanians however.**

Part One: Alwas

Moon and Star

Ch.1: The Lupanian Boy

Don Wei drove down a deserted back road, trying to clear his head. Today was the anniversary of his wife's death—this day always brought back bad memories now matter how hard he tried to forget.

_They were coming around the final turn…Spirit dropped low over the Star-racer…he sped past…the Star-racer exploded. _

Don gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. _No, don't…_ he scolded himself for the millionth time that day. _Don't think of that…_

It didn't help that today the sky was gray and it was drizzling. Just like the day he'd left Eva at the Stern Boarding School…

"_Daddy!"_

"_Daddy needs you to promise to be a good girl. I'm too busy…to take care of you now. Surely you can understand…"_

Don shook his head. _Of course she didn't understand! She was only five!_ Don growled at the voice in his head. _Shut up, shut up, shut up!_

He glanced to the right. He was passing the cemetery. He hadn't even realized he was traveling this road… He stared for a moment, unconsciously scanning the area to see if he could find his wife's grave. Then he realized what he was doing and tore his eyes away and back to the road.

He slammed on the breaks, pitching forward. He took a deep, shuddering breath, eyes wide in horror as he stared at what lay in the middle of the road. It was a boy who couldn't be any older than fourteen.

Don got out of the car and hurried to the boy, kneeling beside him. He had black hair, and his skin—or what Don could see of it—was pale. The boy's hair was long and the rain had plastered it to his face, which was turned away from Don. His clothes—a gray sweater, shirt and dark blue jeans were much too large for him. He seemed to swim in them.

Don placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and rolled him onto his back. He froze. The boy's face was gaunt, pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. Don felt the boy's arm through his clothes—he was skin and bones. Looking at the boy's hands confirmed it; Don grimaced.

Don looked around. He didn't know what to do. Was the boy even still alive? He took off one of his white gloves and held his hand close to the boy's mouth…there! He could feel a faint breath. Or was that the wind? He placed two fingers against the boy's throat. There was a pulse. He could feel it. The boy was still alive.

Don sighed in relief. Then he noticed something shiny around the boy's neck. He grabbed the pendent to get a closer look. It was a silver crescent moon on a chain. It looked familiar like he'd seen it or heard about it before, but he couldn't remember…

_What am I doing?_ he wondered. _I should be calling an ambulance!_

Don pulled out his cell phone. He had just punched in the first number when a hand grabbed his wrist.

He looked down at the boy with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?" the boy rasped.

"Calling an ambulance," Don said.

"Don't," the boy said. "I just…need food. That's all. Don't call the hospital, they'll send me…to the orphanage. Do you know how long I've run from them?"

"The orphanage? Why were you running from there?" Don asked.

"Because…I've got no place there, do I?" the boy said with a wry smile. "After all…who wants Remus Lycaon the Lupanian?"

"You're a Lupanian?" Don asked surprised. "You don't look like one…"

The boy gave a bark of laughter. "You'd think that wouldn't you… But really…we're all the same, humans and Lupanians…we're both human… just different breeds…like different breeds of dogs. A bull dog is a dog the same as a dioxin."

It was then that Don remembered why the pendent had looked so familiar: it was the symbol of a Lupanian. He'd learned that somewhere but it wasn't common knowledge. It was one way for Lupanians to identify other Lupanians. There was another one, but Don couldn't remember what it was… Smell or something…

_Just what am I doing?_ he shouted at himself.

Don sighed in frustration and shook his head. "I'm calling the hospital."

"NO!" the boy shouted and grabbed the cell phone. "I won't let you!"

"Give it to me!" Don said angrily reaching for the phone. The boy pushed him back forcefully. Don was shocked the boy was so powerful given his current state.

"Please… I just need a place to stay," the boy said desperately. "Can I stay with you? I'll sleep in your garage, I swear, just give me a place to sleep and then you'll never know I'm there! You don't even have to feed me or get me anything, I swear!"

Don eyed the boy. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Remus Lycaon," the boy answered.

Remus was tense, ready to bolt at the slightest movement. Don seriously doubted that the boy would do any better than he was now if Don gave him a place to sleep and nothing else, but if he tried to call the hospital or anyone else, the boy would disappear and surely die.

No matter what his employees thought, he wasn't _that _heartless.

"What if I gave you a job?" Don sighed. "So you can buy your own food and clothes?"

"Sure!" Remus said eagerly. "You've no idea how good it would be to eat normal food again!"

Don wasn't sure he wanted to know what Remus had been living off of. "Are you any good as a mechanic?"

"Yeah," Remus said. "I used to work at a gas station."

"What happened to that job?" Don asked.

"I was fired…when the man found out I was a Lupanian," Remus said.

"How did he find out?"

"Well, you see… My parents died before they could teach me how to control my transformations. I got the job right after I had been hurt and naturally transformed back into a human. But then, someone got me really angry and I transformed," Remus said. "It takes me a little while to be able to transform out of my werewolf form. Usually."

"Wait… 'werewolf form'?"

"Yeah," Remus said with a wicked grin. "Lupanians have lived on Earth as long as humans. We're what you used to call werewolves. Except we can't make you a Lupanian by biting you. That's pure legend."

* * *

They had been driving in silence for fifteen minutes when Remus said, "So…what's your name?" His voice was still raspy.

"Hm?" Don said, flicking on the turn signal.

Remus waited until Don had made the turn and turned off the signal. "I never got your name. What is it?"

"Don Wei."

Remus, who had been looking out the window, turned to look at Don in surprise. "The racing manager?"

"How did you know—?"

"Hey," Remus said sharply. "I'm a runaway not a newborn."

Don shot him a look, but didn't say anything.

"So where do you live?"

"Not too far from here," Don said. "May—I hated living in the city."

_Maya hated it more than me,_ Don thought. _At least until Eva was born. Then I agreed it would be safer…outside the city…_

Don sighed and shook his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Remus watching him interestedly.

_What am I doing?_ he wondered. _Lupanians are dangerous…if only he hadn't looked like a human boy…I could've just left him there… _But somehow Don wasn't sure he would've been able to just drive away.

_Maya would've help him,_ said the traitorous voice in the back of his head that always resurfaced this day every year. _Maya would've helped him…even if he wasn't a child…even if he _looked _like a Lupanian. _

"Sir…if you don't mind my asking…" Remus said hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine, what would make you think otherwise?" Don said stiffly.

"Well, it's just…Lupanians have a very acute sense of smell and I mean _very_ acute. We can smell emotions," Remus said. "You just…er…smell sad… Oh, yeah," he muttered to himself, "because_ that_ didn't sound at all weird…"

"I'm fine," Don said, gripping the steering wheel harder.

"Okay," Remus said. "I was just checking… but, um, if you ever need to talk, I'll listen. I think I should be able to relate, you know, I'm an orphan so I think I'd know all about losing something and being sad… I'm just gonna shut up now."

Remus turned to look out the window again.

It was another five uncomfortable minutes before Don pulled into his driveway. He stopped at the gate, punched in the code and drove through the gates when they opened. Remus turned in the seat to watch the gates close automatically behind them.

He studied the fence. It was wrought-iron with spikes at the top like all the old stereotypical mansion had. He'd be able to scale that easily enough. That would make it easier to keep his promise that he'd be like a ghost. Remus turned back around and studied the approaching house. It was large and nice, but not a mansion.

"So," Remus said, "when do I start? As a mechanic, I mean."

"Tomorrow," Don said as he stopped the car and got out.

"Good," Remus said. "I'll be there."

"You'd better be," Don said. "If you'll be living here I guess I'll be driving you."

Remus shrugged. "Maybe," he said.

"What do you mean?" Don asked, starting toward his house. Remus followed.

"I have spasmodic sleeping hours," Remus said. "Some nights I sleep eight to ten hours, some I sleep two…all depends really."

"On what?"

"How safe I feel," Remus said.

"So how does that affect whether or not I take you to work?"

"Well, if it's one of those nights that I don't sleep much, you might go off to work and find me already there," Remus said. "So I wouldn't worry about waiting for me in the morning or anything if I don't show up."

They entered the house into a dark paneled hallway. On the left was a doorway that led to a kitchen and on the right was a doorway that led to a living room. Straight ahead was a staircase.

"Do you have any other clothes?" Don asked.

"No," Remus said. "Although, I've got about twenty dollars in my pocket."

Don sighed. "My clothes would be too big for you… I'll give you some old clothes. That way you don't have to worry about getting them dirty… You can take a shower. It's the second door on the left upstairs. I'll be up in a few minutes to take your clothes to wash them. I'll leave some clothes out for when you're finished."

Remus nodded. He went upstairs.

Don rubbed his temple tiredly.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Remus came down into the kitchen, looking a bit ridiculous in clothes that were rolled up about five times. He froze like a deer in headlights when he saw Don sitting at the kitchen table.

Remus stomach growled, but he didn't say anything.

"Would you like something to eat?" Don asked. "I have soup."

"Soup?" Remus asked blankly. "Why soup?"

"You don't look like your stomach could handle anything else," Don said. Then he shrugged. "Besides, it's the only thing I trust myself to make. I'm not much of a cook."

Remus smiled slightly. "I'm not either. I met someone once who said the things I eat would kill him. Although," he muttered, "it being a bird cooked over a fire might've had something to do with it." Then Remus grinned sheepishly. "You got chicken noodle?"

"Yes, actually," Don said. He stood up and grabbed a can from a cabinet. Remus quietly sat down at the table and watched as Don opened the can and poured the soup into a bowl. Remus rubbed his scratchy eyes. The microwave beeped as Don put in the time and then hummed as it began to heat the soup.

Remus stifled a yawn. He glanced out the window thoughtfully. He still didn't know where he was going to sleep tonight, although the surrounding bushes and trees should offer a good spot. He intended to make good on his promise not to be a burden.

He began to plan in his head how he was going to make this work. First off, he would keep these clothes; they were old clothes anyway. He could see some stains on them. So he could slip in each night and take a shower after Don had gone to bed. Then—every other night—he could wash his clothes and where these ones for a little while until his other clothes where finished.

Once he got his first paycheck, the first thing he would buy was some food that wouldn't go bad if it wasn't refrigerated or something like that. Potato chips or a can of soup each day that he would eat for lunch or something.

The next thing he'd get was a blanket. It was getting near the end of summer so it would begin to get cooler. He'd then have to get some heavier clothing… Gently, Remus bit his tongue. He hated not being part of a pack. He wouldn't have to worry about freezing to death if he was in a pack. In packs, the members all curled up with each other and kept each other warm, especially during the winter nights.

The microwave beeped shrilly to signal the soup was done.

Remus jumped so badly he nearly fell off the chair.

"Are you alright?" Don asked, taking the soup out of the microwave and grabbing a spoon.

"Y…yeah," Remus said. "I was just thinking…Startled me…"

"I see," Don said. He placed the bowl in front of Remus and sat down as well. He didn't even know why there were two chairs in here. He never had anyone over to eat…but it was just there and he'd never bothered to move it.

"Thanks," Remus said quietly. He blew gently on the soup before eating.

After a moment, Don said, "What did you mean that a werewolf bite wouldn't turn you into one? If it doesn't, where did that come from?"

Remus ate another bite of soup. "It came from way, way back," Remus said with a bit of a smile. "When a Lupanian bit you, it used to be that you died because of all the bacteria in our saliva. There wasn't proper medicine to treat the infections. And people didn't know where Lupanians came from. So they thought that when people bitten by Lupanians died, if they passed some sort of test of the devil, they became his servants—werewolves.

"Now people back then weren't stupid and they knew that the devil was smart. He wouldn't have his servants go back to a place where they were known to be dead. So they moved to a different town far away so they'd never be discovered by people who knew them to be devil creatures. That's how the legend spread. Because no one was able to prove it wrong. How could you? Search the globe for a dead person?

"Now-a-days, though, there's medicine and proper dental care and food. Our mouths are cleaner and we're eating less raw meat so our saliva carries less bacteria and wounds are thoroughly cleaned and so resulting infections are easier to combat. Plus, less Lupanians suffer from bloodlust during the full moon so we're perfectly harmless. And most of us have chains handy just in case…we can tell if we're going to suffer from bloodlust during the full moon in advance. Plus, with all the sleeping medicines out there, we can get a hold of them and just sleep the full moon away."

Remus fell silent again as he began to eat his soup. Don sat, staring at him for a moment…

"Do you have chains?"

Remus almost choked on his soup. "Er…I used to…but ah…they're old and rusty…not really good for anything, really… Plus, I took up the art of meditation from an old Lupanian I once met… He was an old man… He was the closest thing I had to a father in a long time… But he past away. And I was alone again."

Remus gaze had turned to the table. He looked up at Don with a wry smile. "But I guess that's the curse of the werewolf, huh?"

Don's hands, which had been resting on his knees, curled into fists.

"_Daddy!"_

He stood up quickly. Remus looked at him, surprised as Don hurried from the room.

* * *

The next morning, Don stood by his car, looking around for Remus. _Where is that boy…?_ Don had looked for Remus all through out the house, but the guest bedroom hadn't been slept in and the couch didn't look like it had been touched. He had checked to see if Remus was getting his clothes but Remus had apparently already grabbed his things because they weren't there.

"_Well, if it's one of those nights that I don't sleep much, you might go off to work and find me already there. So I wouldn't worry about waiting for me in the morning or anything if I don't show up."_

Don sighed and shook his head. _You'd better be there, boy, because I don't have a problem getting rid of you…_

It only took Don thirty minutes to get to his company. After a few years, you learn the quickest routes around the city. He parked his car and headed toward the hangers.

"You," he said to a passing mechanic, "have you seen a young boy here by any chance?"

"Er…you mean the new mechanic? Yeah, he's over there, sir," the man said, pointing toward one of the hangers.

Don nodded to him and started over.

"Darn it…no use," he heard someone say, "it's not coming out…"

"Here, let me try." That was Remus voice. Don stepped into the hanger and quickly located him. He was standing with four other mechanics near a star-racer. They were looking at Remus and began to laugh.

"Kid, if we can't get it out, what makes you think you can? You not only look like you should be dead, but just how strong can you be?" laughed the head mechanic.

Don narrowed his eyes and looked at Remus. Remus saw him standing a few feet behind the group. He smirked and reached into the Star-racer. He fiddled around with it for a few second…then he yanked on something.

The upgrade piece came out without a bit of resistance.

Remus smirked at the other mechanics. They were staring at him in shock.

"No way…we must've loosened it for you," the head mechanic said angrily. "'Cause there's no way a twerp like you is showin' me up…"

"Ross," Don Wei snapped.

The group froze before slowly turning around.

"Y…yes, boss?" Ross, the head mechanic, said sheepishly.

"I expect you to teach this boy what he needs to know and tell him what he needs to work on," Don said. "Found out what he's best at and have him begin working there. Don't give him trouble."

"Psh," Ross muttered. "Never got all up in anyone's face over me…"

Don narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"N…nothing, sir," Ross said weakly. "Come on kid, let's get you started."

"My name's Remus," Remus said a little testily.

"Well, I'm callin' you kid," Ross shot back.

"Fine, I'll call you 'R' then," Remus said. Ross raised an eyebrow at the nickname and started off toward another racer. Remus followed, passing Don Wei as he muttered, "For retard…"

Don shook his head. _I really do hope that boy is a good mechanic…perhaps he'll cut Ross down a bit. _

* * *

Ross was getting progressively more aggravated as the day went on. Remus was cheeky and a good mechanic and a good deal stronger than anybody his age should be, let alone one that was skin and bones. He picked up heavy crates that took two grown men to move and walked around with ease. He could hold these crates for several minutes without problem while someone figured out where they were supposed to go whereas the other men began to shout that the crate was heavy and they needed to set it down.

All in all, there was no way the boy could be human, and Ross was going to prove it.

_I bet ol' Don Wei doesn't even realize this kid's something else entirely,_ Ross thought with aggravation.

When he had mentioned this to the other workers over lunch, they had said that there was something funny about Remus and that maybe he wasn't entirely human. "But really," said one man, "what does it matter? He's a good kid."

Ross had argued that Remus wasn't a kid at all, but no one really seemed to care. Ross had played the 'what if there are more of them' card and 'if Remus is that strong while skin and bones how strong must the others be' but no one bit. They weren't going to play this game. Remus looked human. He'd cut his finger and bled red blood. So what if he was part something else?

Ross growled softly as he remembered his final stab at making the others see things his way.

"When he was lifting those crates, his hair moved away from his ears…they were pointed slightly and he grit his teeth when he cut himself…his canines were fangs and his eyes glowed the slightest bit… Don't those sound like the marks of a Lupanian? And what about that necklace? I've heard that's the sign of a Lupanian," he had said.

The others had laughed. "Lupanians are harmless," one had said. "We're more likely to all get struck by lightening right now then get attack by one of those! Besides, they're only a problem during the full moon and with sleeping medicines they just sleep it off. Welcome to this day and age, Ross. The lot of the whole world isn't xenophobic anymore."

Ross snarled and punched a wall. Then he hissed in pain and cradled his hand. "Darn it…"

He looked around. _Now…where's ol' Don…_

Finally he spotted Don Wei speaking with Remus. Ross grinned evilly. _There we go…_

Raff, another of the mechanics, noticed his look. He nudged A.J. and Duncan.

"Hey, Ross, don't go doing anything stupid now, why don't you?" Raff said. Ross ignored him.

"Hey, boss, I've gotta speak with you," Ross said.

Don looked up at him, annoyed at being interrupted. Remus face grew darker.

"What is it, Ross?" Don asked.

"Do you know you've hired an alien?" Ross asked, staring straight at Remus.

If it was possible for Remus pale skin to get any paler, it did. "What makes you think I'm an alien?" His voice was surprisingly steady for how shaky he looked.

"Well, lets see," Ross said mockingly. "You can easily lift more than two grown men can do together; I've seen your ears and their pointed—"

He reached out to brush Remus long black hair away from one of his ears. Remus shied away, growling at him in a very wolf-like way. Ross smirked.

"And there," he said. "Your canines are pointed…especially when your angry or in pain… You're a Lupanian. And everyone knows how dangerous those are."

Remus was about to retort when Don cut him off.

"Then you have to be the stupidest man on earth for intentionally trying to get one angry," Don said. "I should fire you for your stupidity alone."

Ross looked like he'd been slapped in the face. "What?"

"I told you not to give Remus trouble, didn't I?" Don said.

"Er…well, maybe, but sir…"

"I'm warning you, Ross, leave Remus alone or your fired," Don said. "There's nothing wrong with Lupanians."

Ross growled. He shot Remus a nasty look, ground out, "Yes, sir," and stalked off.

"Thanks, sir," Remus said quietly.

"I expect you to work your hardest," Don replied. "I won't defend you or keep you on if you don't do your job."

Remus smiled slightly. "Don't worry, sir, I won't let you down."

Don nodded and started to walk away.

_After all,_ Remus thought, _you're only the second person to help me after my parents died… I won't let you down… I just hope nothing happens to you too…_

_**Chapter Preview: Enter Eva –**_

_The girl was too young to be a friend or anything like that and Don didn't seem to know her… The basic sent was too closely relating to Don for her to be a niece (the sent was basic, yet had a singularly unique quality for each member) so that meant she had to be his…_

_Remus yelped. _

_Everyone spun to look at him. Thinking fast, Remus grabbed his foot. "Sorry," he muttered quickly. "Stubbed my foot…stupid crate…"_


	2. Enter Eva

Moon and Star

Ch.2: Enter Eva

Remus stared at his paycheck the next Friday and grinned. It was lunchtime and the other mechanics had gone to sit in their usual groups. Remus didn't have a group. He sat by himself or took a walk. He did something to keep himself occupied during the half hour brake. Usually he caught up on sleep that he had missed the night before due to a noise that had awoke him or something like that.

Today Remus was sitting on a crate on the other end of hanger from where everyone ate their lunch, staring at the check in his hand. Don Wei had handed it to him without a word moments before when he had been checking on how things were going.

_Wow,_ Remus thought. _$1,458…that's a good deal more than I got at the gas station… But then I guess that's to be expected isn't it? _

Remus leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, slipping his check into his pocket. _Let's see…first I'll get some blankets so I can make myself a tent of sorts… Then I'll get myself some stuff to eat. I'll have to find a safe place to put this… and make a trip to a bank to get this cashed. _

"Hey, Remus!"

Remus opened his eyes to see Raff standing in front of him. "Er…what I do this time?" Through out the week, Ross had been making things difficult for Remus, but what Ross hadn't counted on was Remus paying him back in full. The other mechanics had managed to keep most of it from the attention of Don Wei, but a few times they had very nearly been caught.

Remus got the feeling that although Don hadn't actually caught or really heard of them doing anything that he was getting sick of the pair them.

"Nothing," Raff said with a friendly smile. "I just wanted to know if you'd want to come over and sit with me and A.J. and Duncan, that's all."

"Er…" Remus leaned forward to see past the Star-racer he was sitting next to properly, his eyes landing on A.J. and Duncan. "Is Ross there?"

Raff gave him a look. "Do you honestly think I'd invite you to join us if Ross was going to be there? No; we kicked him out a few days ago."

Remus started. "You what?" he exclaimed.

"We kicked him out," Raff said, smiling wider at Remus' shock. "We told him we don't want him sitting with us if he's going to keep up acting the way he has towards you."

Remus could only stare at him.

"So, we decided since you don't have anyone to sit with, we figured we'd give it a shot and ask you to sit with us," Raff said.

"Er, okay," Remus said. "Eh…Ross isn't going to kill me though, is he?"

"We won't let him," Raff said. "Plus, he'll have to go through us. The three of us'll keep you out of it so Don can't fire you. We were never really friends with Ross anyway."

"Thanks," Remus said.

"No problem," Raff said as they started toward the group. "But you've got to be careful, there, wolf; Don knows something's going on and he's getting sick of it."

Remus smiled. "I knew it."

* * *

Everyday for lunch for the past five days—after Raff, A.J. and Duncan had discovered that he never had any food to eat after he'd only been on the job two days—Remus had one thing from each of them. Today, he'd had a bacon and turkey sandwich, a bag of chips and a juice box. Thanks to them, he'd been getting a bit better and no longer looked so skeletal. That was always nice.

They were working on preparing for the Grand Prix and Don Wei was breathing down their throats. Ross had taken the day off; needless to say, Don wasn't happy.

"WHERE IS ROSS?" Remus heard Don shout again.

Remus sighed. "He's got such great faith in us, doesn't he?"

Raff nodded. "I bask in it," he said, rolling his eyes.

"What's Ross got that we don't?" Remus asked.

"More years under his belt for one thing," Raff said. He paused. "A bigger paycheck for another now that I think about it."

"Yeah…" Remus glanced around to see if Don was anywhere in sight. Then he sat down heavily. "I don't know what's wrong with the stupid thing," Remus said angrily. "I give up."

"By all means, go ahead, wolf, if you don't mind loosing your job," Raff said. Then he said hurriedly, "Quick, Don's coming!"

Remus jumped to his feet and started working again.

"Hey, do you see that?" Remus asked a minute later.

"See what?"

"There's a girl over there," Remus said. "Is she new?"

"I don't know. Go see," Raff said. "Don's not gonna be happy if she's not supposed to be here."

"When's he _ever_ happy?" Remus muttered as he left. He was halfway there when he stopped, wincing as Don's voice rang out.

_Too late,_ Remus thought with a sigh. Maybe it was his imagination, or did the girl look…_happy_…to see Don?

_That can't be right,_ Remus thought, edging closer. _No one's **ever** happy to see Don…not if they're in there right mind._

Don put his hands on his hips. "What are you doing here, young man?"

Remus winced. _Ouch._

"Do I _look_ like a young man to you?" the girl shot back.

_Well, duh. Would he have called you one otherwise? I think not._

"Then you've got even less of a reason to be here," Don countered. "You're not in a shopping mall. You're in a Star-racer hanger."

Something backfired and Remus wasn't able to hear what the girl said next, but Don, it seemed, wasn't even paying attention. He was storming off toward Raff, A.J. and Duncan who had managed to get a hold of Ross.

Remus was puzzled as to why she looked so disheartened at Don's reaction. Just what was she expecting?

"Twins? I don't care if they're quintuplets!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Well, that sounds pretty typical…" He cast the girl another look before starting back to the group. He stood behind Don and so he was the only one to notice the girl slipping past the group to look at the Star-racer. Remus raised an eyebrow as she fiddled with it for a moment, pulled out a piece and tossed it to the floor.

Don's attention snapped to her. "Have lost your mind?" he demanded.

The Star-racer flared to life.

"S-sir! It's working!" Duncan said in amazement.

Don hesitated. Then he said into the phone, "Guess what? You're fired," and hung up.

"YES!"

Don spun around to glare at Remus.

"What? I didn't say anything," Remus said seriously.

Don glared at him a moment longer before turning back to the girl. Remus started to do a little dance. Raff, Duncan and A.J. slipped back behind Don so that he wouldn't see them laughing.

"What's your name?" Don asked.

"Um…it's um…"

This caught Remus' attention, and he suddenly stopped dancing. _Okay, who doesn't know their own name? What's with that?_

"Well? Spit it out. We don't have all day," Don snapped.

_Then again, if D here was quizzing me, I'd probably forget too,_ Remus thought with a frown. _Hm? What's that?_

Remus took a deep breath of air through his nose. Something smelled odd… Remus by now knew all the smells around the hanger including the individual smells of the workers. Duncan, being a Doritos addict, constantly smelt of Doritos. Raff always smelt like his shampoo, which Remus found annoying, but easy to forget. A.J., on the other hand, was unforgivable for always smelling like his wife's perfume—not for smelling like it of course (that just couldn't be helped and no one else noticed but Remus) but for letting his wife buy that…stuff, whatever it really was. Although, to be fair, it probably smelled better to people who didn't have a super sense of smell (which probably wasn't so super anymore after hanging around here for hours each day).

Now, Remus wouldn't have given any thought to this new smell, knowing it to be the girl, if she hadn't smelled…odd… She smelled like Don but at the same time she didn't. There were only a few instances where that happened that Remus could think of: the people hung around a lot (i.e. friends, wife/husband, ect.) or they were related because people of the same family had a basic sent. Remus knew this because his parents had taught it to him as a young child. That was one way Lupanian children bonded with their parents so that if they ever got lost, they could track their parents by their smell. The other way was the sound of the parents' voices in all different forms: talking, growling, howling…

"My name's Molly," the girl said with a bit of a sheepish grin.

"Well, Molly, you're hired," Don said, shaking her hand. He began to explain the hours to her.

The girl was too young to be a friend or anything like that and Don didn't seem to know her… The basic sent was too closely relating to Don for her to be a niece (the sent was basic, yet had a singularly unique quality for each member) so that meant she had to be his…

Remus yelped.

Everyone spun to look at him. Thinking fast, Remus grabbed his foot. "Sorry," he muttered quickly. "Stubbed my foot…stupid crate…"

Raff gave Remus an odd look. "Remus, you're about three feet away from that crate."

Remus glared up at Raff. "Oh, so I suppose you've never jumped back from something that's bit you?"

"Bit me? That's a crate, Remus, not a snake."

"Yeah, well, I still say it bit me…" Remus mumbled.

"If you say so… Hey, what's going on?"

A limo had just pulled up outside. Don hurried over to it.

"Well, guys, we'd better get back to work, then," Raff said. "Come on…"

Duncan and A.J. followed Raff over to the Star-racer, but Remus walked up to Molly and sat down on a crate next to her.

"So…you're name's Molly, huh?" Remus asked.

"Yeah…" Molly said nervously.

"I'm Remus Lycaon," Remus said, holding out his hand. "I'm a mechanic too. Oh, and I guess I'll drop the bombshell on you first before anyone else does. I'm Lupanian."

"You're Lupanian?" Molly asked. "You don't look Lupanian."

"Just how many times am I going to suffer through hearing that? Honestly!" Remus said. "It's as if no one ever taught you that we can look human too!"

"Actually…" Molly said. "I had heard that but they only glossed over that in school…actually my teacher mentioned it once and then never spoke of it again."

"I see…" Remus looked around. "What else do you know about Lupanians?"

"They're super strong…have a better sense of smell then any normal human being…and a better sense of hearing…" Molly was ticking the facts off on her fingers.

"Did they tell you how we bond with our parents?" Remus asked.

"No, why?" Molly asked.

"Did you know that every family has a basic scent that—while being similar to each member of the family—has a unique quirk to it for each member of the family?" Remus asked, leaning back on his arms on the crate.

"No," Molly said a bit suspiciously.

"Well, after hanging around here for a week, I've gotten pretty familiar with most of the scents of both the people and machines. Now, you've got Don's basic scent quirk which means that you're not only related to him but you can't be a niece or anything like that because then you wouldn't have his quirk; you'd have your parents. You've also got someone else's quirk—your mother's—which is mixing together with Don's to create your own singular quirk and combined back scent of your two families. You follow me?"

"Er…"

"It means, you've got to be his daughter," Remus said, looking her in the eyes. "So…are you? Or am I wrong? It's okay to tell me if I'm wrong, but I'll be able to tell if you're lying so keep that in mind."

"How would you be able to tell if I was lying?" Molly challenged.

"I'd smell your nervousness and fear," Remus said, "which would be different than if you were telling me the truth and nervous of how I'd handle it." Remus tapped his nose. "This thing can be quite useful to tell you the truth. Although…I'd rather not be able to smell perfume…doesn't smell quite as nice when your sense of smell is increased…"

Molly glanced around the hanger quickly before pulling Remus off the crate and close to the wall. "Okay, so I _am_ his daughter. What are you going to do about it?" she demanded.

"Me? Nothing. You? I don't know," Remus said. "I didn't even know he had a daughter and I'd like to think I'm closer to him than others…"

"Oh? Why's that?"

"I sleep in his backyard," Remus said casually.

"What?" Molly exclaimed.

"It's a bit of a long story," Remus said. "Well, actually it isn't but I don't really feel like tell you all about it right now. Maybe later. Is Molly your real name?"

"No, it's Eva," Molly…Eva…said.

"Can I call you 'E'?"

"Why?" Eva asked.

"Cause I want to," Remus thought. "I like to give people nicknames in my head. Usually it's the first letter of their first name. I call Don 'D' whenever I think of him. Usually it's in an 'I can't believe he said slash did that, he's such a jerk, why doesn't he fire Ross' kinda way, but you get the point."

Eva shook her head. "You've got to be the strangest person I've ever met."

"Thank you," Remus said. "I try."

"Uh huh…"

"What do you think Don would do if I called him 'D' to his face?" Remus asked.

"I don't know," Eva said, suddenly looking depressed. "I haven't seen him in ten years…not since my mother died…"

"What's that?"

"He sent me off to boarding school is what happened," she said bitterly. "I haven't heard from him in ten years…when he didn't call on my birthday, I broke out to see him…but…"

Remus laid a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. I'm an orphan, so I sort of know how you feel…"

"I'm sorry," Eva said. "How…how did they die? My mother was a Star-racer pilot. She died in a crash…"

"I…don't really want to talk about it right now," Remus said. "Maybe later." He glanced over at where Raff, A.J. and Duncan were hiding behind a crate, watching the limo that was accompanied by army trucks.

"Come on," Remus said, "let's go see." They snuck over and knelt beside the three other mechanics.

"What's going on?" Remus whispered.

"We don't know, but that person in there looking for Don is the president," Raff whispered.

"No way," Remus said. "What does he want with D?"

Raff turned and gave Remus a look. "'D'?"

"As long as I don't ever say it to his face, he's not gonna know, R.A.," Remus said.

"What? Why don't you call me 'R'?" Raff asked, bewildered. "Ross isn't here anymore."

"I know but the nickname 'R' will never fit anyone else after I firmly decided I'd use it to mean 'retard'," Remus said. "I hate that man…"

"He's gone now," Raff said, grinning. "I hope his twins give him hell from us."

Remus chuckled. "Hey, E, come join us on the floor why don't you? Nothing like getting incredibly dirty, don't you think?"

Eva looked at him with a worried expression and sat down beside him. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "What do you think they want with him?"

"I don't know," Remus whispered back, "but I wouldn't worry about it."

Don came out a moment later and walked toward the hanger as the limo drove off. Remus, Eva, Raff, A.J. and Duncan rose to their feet.

"Well, boss?" Raff asked a little nervous. "What is it?"

"We need to leave," Don said seriously.

"What…?" Remus asked. "What about the Grand Prix?"

"Something more important has come up," Don said. "A race on another planet. I have thirteen hours to assemble a crew. We need a pilot, a gunner, mechanics and a Star-racer."

"Can't we use one of the Star-racers here?" Remus asked.

"The president has informed me of two Star-racer prototypes that are much better than what we have here," Don said.

Remus growled and looked up at the sky. A helicopter was landing next to the hanger. "Is that going to take us to wherever we need to be?"

"That will be taking us to find our crew," Don said.

"Great," Remus said frustrated.

"Is something wrong?" Don asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I hate airplanes and helicopters…"

"Are you scared of flying?" Eva asked.

"No, E," Remus said, "I hate the noise. _You_ think that's loud? What about me? My hearing's a little better than yours. Its even louder for me."

Don frowned. "It won't be so loud inside in the helicopter."

"Here," Eva said, taking her scarf from around her neck. "It's not much, but it might help block out some of the noise."

Remus took it gratefully and wrappedit around his head awkwardly like it was a bandana.

Raff snickered. "Very cool," he said.

Remus glared at him. "You know…I could always gnaw your hand off…"

"Er…no thanks," Raff said. He looked as though he wasn't entirely sure that Remus _wouldn't_ carry through with that threat.

"Duncan," Don said, "get Molly here a uniform."

"Yes, boss," Duncan said. He ran off and returned a few minutes later with the uniform. "Here," he said, handing it to Eva, "this should fit you."

"Thanks," Eva said. "Um…is there someplace to get changed?"

"There's a bathroom over there," A.J. said. "Just be sure to hurry up."

"'Kay, thanks," Eva said.

* * *

Remus was absolutely positive he hated flying. Don was right that the noise was less inside the helicopter, but he also didn't like the feeling that the ground was miles below them. If something went wrong and they crashed…

Remus shuddered. Then he yelped and jumped as the helicopter swiftly flew closer to the ground.

"You need to relax, Rem," A.J. said. "We're perfectly safe."

"Yeah…tell that to all the people who've died in these things," Remus shot back darkly. "I'd like to have both my feet firmly on something preferably closer to the ground."

A.J. shrugged. "Okay, I can respect that."

"Thank you."

Don opened the door to the helicopter. Remus wasn't sure what was being said now that the noise from outside had a way inside. A minute later, a man entered the helicopter and sat down across from Remus.

"You'd better have a good explanation for this, Don," the man said.

"Relax, Rick," Don said, closing the door. He sat down next to Remus. Don began explaining again about the race. The man, Rick, was nodding.

"Right…so you need me to be your pilot?" Rick said.

"Of course," Don said.

"Sounds like fun," Rick said with a smirk.

* * *

By the time they had reached their last stop, Remus wanted to throw himself to the ground and kiss it. They were at a warehouse in what Remus guessed was the middle of nowhere. Don was haggling with an old man about Star-racers and mechanics.

Finally, Don said, "Let's fix up those engines, men."

Remus sank to his knees. "Yes! Sweet, sweet ground…"

Duncan, Raff and A.J. sniggered as they started toward the back where the Star-racers were held. Eva adjusted her hat as well as the goggles that were placed on it.

"Come on, Remus, let's go," she said excitedly.

"Jus' a minute…" Remus said, lying on his back on the ground. He looked like he was trying to make a snow angel. "Sweet, sweet ground, I love thee so…"

"Remus, get up!" Don snapped.

Remus jumped to his feet. "Yes, sir," he said with a salute. He grabbed Eva's wrist. "Come on, E, let's hurry up!"

"That's what I've been tell _you_ for about the past _five minutes!_"

_**Chapter preview: To Alwas –**_

_The Crog reached out and knocked Jordan's gun out of his hand. He grabbed Don's ankle. Immediately, Jordan, Koji and Stan grabbed Don around his waist and by the arms, trying to pull him back inside. _

_Something jumped on the Crog's back and bit its shoulder. The Crog let go of Don. They pulled him back inside. It reached around and grabbed the thing on its back and threw it into the back of the truck. A huge dent appeared in the metal. A form slumped to the ground. _

_Then, raising again as if it were nothing, Remus jumped forward, grabbing them. He dragged them backward, farther away from the Crog. He placed himself in front of them, eyes glowing a pupil-less emerald green. _

_Remus roared. Everyone jumped. Then he began to transform. _


	3. To Alwas

Disclaimer: I don't own Oban Star-racers.

Thank you to everyone that's reviewed so far. I really, really, really appreciate it and it keeps me motivated to know that people are enjoying this story.

Moon and Star 

Ch.3: To Alwas

It was early the next morning—the sun hadn't even risen—when the Star-racers were loaded and ready to go. Eva wiped a hand across her forehead while Remus collapsed to the ground. He yawned loudly.

"I'm tired…what about you, E?" Remus asked. "Er…E?"

Eva was staring at a room with the blinds closed and lights on. Remus could make out the form of Don Wei, Rick, and whom he figured was the gunner, Jordan.

"Hm…now what are you plotting behind my back?" Eva wondered.

"Uh, Eva, we're not _really_ gonna spy on them, are we?" Remus asked.

"You're not," Eva said, "but I am. I want to know what's going on." She ran over to the building and began trying to climb onto the roof.

"Hold on, E, you're going to kill yourself doing that," Remus said, rushing over. "Here…let me help you." He knelt down. "Get on my shoulders. …Ready? Okay, I'm getting up."

Remus stood up carefully, his hands gripping Eva's ankles to try and steady her. She grabbed onto the top of the roof and Remus slowly lifted her up. Once she was on the roof, Remus took a step back.

"Hm…" He grinned wickedly as he got an idea. He drew back into the shadows and closed his eyes, concentrating…

Gregory, the old Lupanian he had told Don about, had taught him meditation as a way to control the wolf. He had also taught him how to use his Lupanian powers in human form. True, some amount of transformation occurred—his canines turned to fangs and his nails became claws and his eyes sometimes glowed like they did when he turned into his Lupanian form—but for the most part he still looked human.

Remus fell almost instantly into a meditative state. He felt the uncomfortable sensation of his teeth changing and his nails growing and sharpening. His eyes snapped open, glowing emerald.

He ran at the wall, jumping up into the air…and landed lightly on the roof.

Eva was staring at him. "Wow, that was so cool," she whispered.

Remus smirked at her. He could tell the moment she saw his teeth by the look on her face. "What? Didn't know I could that, huh?" He retracted his claws and fangs—that was what he called it when his teeth and nails went back to normal. "So?" he whispered. "What are they saying?"

That seemed to snap Eva out of her surprise. She pulled up one of the tiles and lay down on the roof. Remus lay down next to her. "For the record," he whispered softly, "I don't approve of this."

"If you want to back out, now's the time," Don Wei said.

"That's okay with us sir," Jordan said. "We're defiantly ready for the challenge."

"You know, for a guppy you've sure got a big mouth," Rick said. "Don, please tell me you have at least an _idea_ as to where we're going?"

"According to the president, Oban is located at the epicenter of the Milky Way," Don said. He turned to a chalkboard behind him. "But first there are qualifying rounds held simultaneously, located on three planets equidistant from Oban." He grabbed a piece of chalk. On the board was a simply drawing of the galaxy. There was a circle in the middle with an X on it. _Oban,_ Remus thought. Don tapped each of the other three circles surrounding it as he said, "Here, here and here."

Don turned back to Rick and Jordan. "That's some twenty-five thousand light years away."

"Wow," Eva whispered loudly. Remus panicked.

"Hm?" Don looked up and saw them staring in through the window pan on the roof.

"Er…" Remus froze as Rick and Jordan followed Don Wei's gaze. Eva laughed nervously.

Remus stood up quickly. Eva looked up at him. "Remus? Is something wrong?"

Remus was staring out into the distance with narrowed eyes.

"Of course there's something wrong!" Don Wei shouted. "What are you two doing up there? This doesn't concern you!"

"Sorry, sir," Eva apologized weakly.

"Run," Remus said quietly.

"What?" Eva asked.

"Run," Remus said again. "We need to run, something's wrong…really wrong."

"What are you talking about? There's nothing—" She gasped as something exploded.

Remus growled and jumped down from the roof. The wall surrounding them crumbled. Remus stopped dead in his tracks. A Crog walked through the hole. Immediately laser fire started.

"You've got to be joking," Remus whispered as the lasers hit the Crog. It didn't even seem to feel them. The most reaction the soldiers got out of it was when lights flared to life and it raised a hand to shield its eyes.

A truck stopped near the building. "This way, quickly," a soldier said.

"What's going on?" Don Wei demanded as Eva jumped down from the roof.

"It's a Crog, sir! A Crog is attacking us!"

"Rick, get the truck," Don ordered.

"You got it."

Don, Jordan, Koji and Stan climbed into the back of the truck. Rick into the warehouse.

A soldier blocked Eva. "Let—me—through!" The Crog took the soldier's attention of her for a second. She ducked past him.

"Wait!" she cried, but the doors closed. The truck drove off.

"Eva!" Remus shouted. "Your rocket seat!"

"Right!"

They waited for Rick to pull the truck with the Star-racers out of the warehouse before running inside. As Eva got it started, Remus watched as the Crog ripped the roof off an army truck, climbed in and drove after the trucks.

"E, we've got to hurry! The Crog's going after the others!"

"I know!" Eva shouted. The rocket seat flared to life. "Get on!"

Remus had barely climbed on behind her when it shot forward.

"Hold on tight!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Not a problem," Remus muttered. Then louder, he said, "So, can you see them yet?"

"No…but I'm going to guess that that blasting noise is a good sign!"

"Good? Or just an indication of the horrible death we're going to die either by the Crog or by that gun maniac, Jordan, that's shooting at it?" Remus yelled over the wind.

"Shut up, Remus," Eva said, zigzagging sharply. Remus held on tighter.

"Stop that!" he demanded.

"Then shut up!" Eva shouted.

"Okay," Remus said. "Just don't kill me before the Crog gets too! It'll be mad at you!"

"REMUS!"

"Shutting up now…"

It was another moment before Remus cried out, "I can see them!" Then his eyes widened. "Ah! Eva, we've got to go faster!"

"What is it? I can't see what it's doing!"

"It's catching up to them!" Remus said, standing up a little. "Crud, it's got Jordan's gun!"

"WHAT?"

* * *

The Crog reached out and knocked Jordan's gun out of his hand. He grabbed Don's ankle. Immediately, Jordan, Koji and Stan grabbed Don around his waist and by the arms, trying to pull him back inside. 

Something jumped on the Crog's back and bit its shoulder. The Crog let go of Don. They pulled him back inside. It reached around and grabbed the thing on its back and threw it into the back of the truck. A huge dent appeared in the metal. A form slumped to the ground.

Then, raising again as if it were nothing, Remus jumped forward, grabbing them. He dragged them backward, farther away from the Crog. He placed himself in front of them, eyes glowing a pupil-less emerald green.

Remus roared. Everyone jumped. Then he began to transform.

His skin began to ripple—his muscles writhed—Remus cried out as his body changed: his head transformed as black hair appeared over his entire body. He became more muscular. Remus doubled over. Once the transformation stopped, he uncurled himself and stood up tall.

Everyone's mouths fell open.

Remus was now twice as tall as he had been before (before he had been eyelevel with Eva). His head and feet were that of a wolf's. Don suddenly realized why Remus clothes were too big for him. They were now tightly fitting Remus form, clearly outlining muscles he hadn't had before.

Remus snarled at the Crog whose yellow eyes were wide in shock. Then he roared and jumped the Crog.

"Jordan! Where's the gun?" Don demanded.

"I…I don't know, sir," Jordan said. "I…I think it fell out onto the road!"

Don growled.

Remus yelped. The Crog threw him into the back of the truck. This time, Remus didn't get up.

Don knelt beside him. He placed a hand on Remus' shoulder. "Remus?" He took his hand away quickly as Remus began to transform back. "That's not good," he muttered, remembering that Remus only transformed back against his will if he was severely hurt.

Remus was unconscious. A thin trickle of blood escaped his mouth. He was covered in bruises. Don's eyes landed on a dark, sticky liquid in Remus hair. Grimacing, he touched it; his gloves came away red. Don quickly whipped them off.

Their truck pulled ahead of Rick's. The Crog climbed on top of Rick's truck.

* * *

"You can go across the galaxy if you want, but I'm coming with you," Eva whispered as she glared down at the trucks. After Remus had jumped off, she had spotted a path that ran up a little cliff alongside the road. Through gaps in the trees lining the cliff, she saw as the werewolf jumped out of the back of the truck and attacked the Crog. The army jeep was swerving. The Crog punched Remus in the stomach and slammed him against Rick's truck. Remus yelped as his head hit the side. Then the Crog threw him back into the truck with Don Wei and the others. 

The Crog climbed on top of Rick's truck. It made its way to the front. It ripped open the roof and grabbed Rick.

Eva looked back at Rick. "Hold on!" she shouted. She drove off the edge of the cliff. She hit the Crog. It let go of Rick and crashed the ground.

Rick gasped for breath. "Is this the great race you were talking about, Don? Or was it just the warm up?"

Up a head, the truck with Don Wei, Remus and the others stopped. The bottom of the Avatar's ship began to open. A beam descended until it hit the ground. The truck began to rise into the air.

Eva cried out as she nearly fell of the ladder she was clinging to for dear life. "Not good!"

The truck entered the beam and rose into the air. Eva's eyes widened in surprise. She let go of the ladder and laughed as she floated upward. Then there was a flash and Eva fell unconscious.

* * *

The next thing Remus knew, a light was shining in his eyes. He groaned. The light moved, dimming. A hand landed on his shoulder and shook him gently. 

"Remus?"

Remus forced his eyes open a crack. "Hmnh?"

"How are you feeling?" Don asked.

"Uh…"

"That bad, huh?" Rick asked, coming up to stand beside Don.

"Gahsanh…"

"Yeah, it's bad alright," Rick said.

"How can you tell?" Don asked. "He isn't even forming words."

"Well, he just said he felt like he was hit by an eighteen wheeler truck," Rick said casually.

"Oh? How could you tell?" Don asked skeptically.

"Trust me, I know the feeling," Rick said. "I can relate."

"Of course," Don said. He shown the light in Remus' eyes. Remus snapped his eyes shut and hissed. "Remus, if you say something coherent, I'll get this light out of your eyes."

"Ish okay…whazza wi' 'ers…"

Don and Rick looked at each other. "Does that count as coherent?" Rick asked.

"I'm…not sure," Don said.

"Get that friggin' light out of my eyes, old man," Remus growled.

Don narrowed his eyes but stood, turning the light away from Remus' eyes.

"Than' you…" Remus said and snuggled deeper into his sweater. "'Night…"

Don sighed. "Remus…"

"Leave him, Don," Rick said. "He attacked a Crog, he deserves rest… Even though he got his butt kicked…still gutsy…"

Remus growled softly. "I heard that…"

"I know you did," Rick said. "I wasn't trying to keep it from you."

"Molly? What are you doing here?" Don Wei's voice demanded from somewhere a little ways away.

Remus' eyes snapped open. _Shoot…_ He got to his feet as quickly as his stiff muscles would allow and rushed over to where the voices were coming from.

"I'm your—" he heard Eva say.

"What's the problem, sir?" Jordan asked, cutting off Eva.

_You idiot,_ Remus thought nastily. _She was going to tell him who she was…you idiot…you useless idiot…_

"Um…I thought you could use an extra mechanic?" Eva said.

"I've already got the two best mechanics there are," Don said. "As far as I'm concerned you're nothing more than a surprise and I hate surprises!"

Eva hung her head.

_That was cold,_ Remus thought. Then Remus closed his eyes._ I can't forget that he doesn't recognize her… I'm sure that he wouldn't've said that if he knew just who he was talking too… _

Then Remus sighed. "Sir…if you're going to give E here a hard time, then I want you to tear into me as well," he said tiredly. Don turned to look at him. "Go ahead." Remus held his arms open wide. "Give me your best shot."

"I will admit that your presence was unexpected as well, however, you proved useful in fending off the Crog—"

"Who are you kidding?" Remus burst out angrily. "I got my butt kicked! I barely scratched the stupid thing!" He was glaring at Don Wei, feeling hatred beginning to burn. "And how do you think I got to you in time to save your sorry hide from the Crog anyway, huh? E drove me that how! Without her as well, you'd be dead." _Maybe that'd be an improvement._

"Remus—"

"Just shut up, I'm not in the mood for this," Remus snapped. He walked over to a step on the truck and sat down, breathing heavily, clutching his wrist.

Everything was silent.

"Remus?" Eva asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm…fine," Remus bit out. "Don't worry about me."

His fingers twitched spasmodically. His head was pounding. A tremor ran through his body. His muscles writhed once then stopped.

"Remus, are you sure you're okay, because you don't seem it," Eva pressed. "You don't look it either."

Remus doubled over, resting his torso on his knees. _I'm fine, _he thought, squeezing his eyes shut. _I'm fine, nothing's wrong, I'm fine…_

Remus opened his eyes. _Why did I get so angry…? Why…? _

"Remus, you look really pale," Eva said.

_It's just stress… I've had a stressful night…morning, whatever… It's just the stress…working on the Star-racer all night, getting beat by a Crog…it's just taking its toll… It's just stress…I'll be fine…_

Remus took several deep, calming breaths and felt the wolf settle. He straightened up. He looked at Eva and smiled. "I'm fine…really. I've just had a stressful morning… I'll be fine after some rest…"

He gave her a thumbs up which she hesitantly returned.

Then Remus noticed something in his hair. He wiped it off and looked at his hand. "Uh…I don't suppose there's a shower anywhere, huh?"

Eva jumped back in shock. "REMUS!"

"WHAT?" Remus jumped to his feet and backed away quickly. "What'd I do?"

"The blood! Oh my god, there's so much of it!"

"Your head bleeds a lot! So what?"

"REMUS, THIS ISN'T NORMAL!"

"It is for me! Besides, my skin's healed. See? No cut."

"REMUS, I'M NOT GOING TO TOUCH YOUR BLOODY HEAD!"

"Then take my word for it that I'm fine and healed and STOP SHOUTING!"

**_Chapter preview: Sixth Sense –_** _Eva had thought something was wrong. As they watched Rick speed toward the finish line, Remus wondered if she was right. It was true that he hadn't felt anything terrible was going to happen, but his instincts were like an animals and if an animal felt an earthquake coming, the might only get a warning a second before it started. _

_Rick was almost there. _

_Panic ripped through Remus. He jumped to his feet. "HE'S GONNA CRASH!"_

_The Star-racer exploded. _

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: READING THIS STORY HAS GIVEN ME TEMPORARY CONTROL OF YOUR MIND!

Now go my zombie people and review!


	4. Sixth Sense

Moon and Star

Ch.4: Sixth Sense

The ship shook and Eva, who had been standing on top of the truck, fell with a startled cry. She landed in Rick's arms. "Be careful, little mouse," Rick said, putting her down.

Remus opened his eyes slightly. His head hadn't stopped pounding yet. It was feeling better, but was still a pretty good headache. He wasn't looking forward to stepping outside. He could only hope that when they landed, it would be night on Alwas.

"Are you okay, Remus?" Eva asked.

"I've been knocked out for about…oh, let's say two hours," Remus said. "Then I've been sleeping for about…let's say another two. My head still hurts. I don't think I'm going to feel better until after I sleep for three days straight."

The ship shook again. Jordan looked around frantically, holding his gun, saying, "What was that? What was that?"

"I think the ship's stopped," Stan said.

Remus got his feet. "Jordan, either put that thing down, or declare your undying love to it so you can go get married and leave us the hell alone… Wait a minute…I thought you lost that thing?"

"I have another," Jordan said proudly. "You can never be too careful."

"Oh yes," Remus said sarcastically. "Because pointing it at everybody is such a great idea and just so careful."

"Hey, shut up you! You're not even supposed to be here, you Lupanian!" Jordan shot back.

Remus blinked. He turned to Eva. "Was that supposed to be an insult? Because I fail to feel insulted."

Eva took a step back. "No way. You're getting _me_ involved."

"Traitor," Remus said.

"Yeah? Is she? Well, you know what—"

"Stop it! Both of you!" Don Wei said, glaring at them. "I expect you two to behave on Alwas. This is no way for ambassadors to act."

Jordan and Remus glared at each other.

The door opened suddenly, blinding them all with the light from outside. Remus threw a hand up over his eyes.

Don walked toward the door. "Gentlemen, beyond this door lies the unknown: the qualifying trials of the Great Race of Oban. It will certainly be the greatest challenge of your lives. You will give nothing less than your best. And, watch your step—"

Remus put a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter as Eva stuck her tongue out at Don.

"—From now on, you are ambassadors of the Earth." He turned around to face Eva who quickly looked innocent. "And don't even _think_ I'm done with you, miss."

Eva scowled. Rick chuckled.

They quickly got in the truck and drove down the ramp that lead out of the ship.

"Wow," Remus and Eva said. They looked out the windows, trying to see everything they could. There were aliens everywhere of all different shapes and sizes. Some were working vendors trying to sell various things while others were checking out the shops.

Jordan cried out and jumped away from the windshield.

"Amazing," Koji said. "I'll bet no one's ever seen aliens like _these_ before."

"Let them come," Jordan said, sounding stressed. "We're ready." He held his gun tighter.

"Remember Jordan, we're ambassadors," Rick said.

Remus looked over his shoulder at Jordan. A quick glance at Don Wei, who was staring out the windows as well, made him hold his tongue. Besides, Jordan really wasn't worth it in the grand scheme of things. Better enjoy himself.

Don came over to their window and stood between them. "Well," he said, not sounding happy, "I didn't expect the Avatar in person, but they could've sent a welcoming committee."

Remus and Eva heard something tapping on the ground. It sounded like something was hitting the tires. They went over to the door (which had no window) and stuck their heads over the half-door and looked down at the ground.

"Uh, sir," Eva said, "I think the welcoming committee has arrived."

Remus grinned, clamping his mouth shut as his shoulders shook. He stepped out of the way so Don could look out the top of the door. Down on the ground, tapping at the tires with a walking stick, was a very short old man with a long white beard and eyebrows with a bald head.

"Oh great, another surprise," Don said, annoyed. "Somehow I feel this won't be the last one today."

Remus and Eva grinned at each other.

"Hello, Earthlings! Welcome to Alwas! You are the 96th and last team to arrive. I dare say we no longer expected you," the man said. "Let me introduce myself. I am Setis, faithful servant of the Avatar. I will be your temporary guide. Follow me and I will take you to your lodging."

Jordan and Koji had opened the door to get a better look. Both stepped back as Setis quickly climbed the stepladder and entered the truck.

"I've never seen a Star-racer from earth before," Setis said, looking around the inside of the truck. "Beautiful."

Don stood in an open doorway between the front of the truck and where the Star-racers where held. "Sorry to disappoint you but this is our truck, buddy. The Star-racers are right behind me." He blinked as Setis was suddenly behind him, staring at the tarps covering the racers.

"Ah, I see, I see," Setis said. "Giant flying cushions. Really, very impressive."

Don sighed in frustration as Eva poked her head through the door to watch Setis. Remus tapped her shoulder.

"What?" she asked at Remus' wicked grin.

Remus leaned closer and whispered, "I think I like him."

"Who? Setis? Why?"

"Because look at how frustrated Don Wei is getting," Remus said. "It's just so funny."

"You're so cruel, Remus," Eva whispered back, smiling herself.

"Thank you, I try," Remus said with a mock bow.

* * *

By the time they reached the hanger where the Earth Team would be living, Eva was not happy. First, Don Wei had made her sit with the luggage—it was really cramped on that elephant-thing, but then Remus had decided to join her instead of sitting with the others. She had told him there was no room, but he had ignored her. He was currently curled up on top of a box, his face covered by his hood. He hadn't moved – or even twitched – for over half an hour. 

She wondered if he had died.

Sighing, Eva carefully stood up and poked Remus' side. His fingers twitched.

"Remus," she said. "We're here, you need to get up."

Remus didn't move.

"Oh, for the love of…" Eva leaned in close to his ear, took a deep breath… "REMUS! WAKE UP, WE'RE HERE!"

Remus jumped like he'd been electrocuted. "Holy hell!" He scrambled to his feet, tripped on a rope and fell over the side of the elephant-thing.

"OW!"

Eva cringed as Remus hit the ground. Quickly, she hurried down to his side. "Remus, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "I thought you guys could land on your feet?"

"NO, dang it," Remus said, "those are _cats_ E, not dogs or wolves or anything… _Ow…_" Eva grabbed his arms and pulled him up into a sitting position. "Well…at least we heal quickly," he said.

"Why's that?"

"Because I think my spine just fused back together," Remus said, getting to his feet gingerly.

Eva stared at him, horrified.

Remus looked down at her, paused, and then laughed. "Relax!" he said. "I was only joking!" He held out a hand for her. Glaring, she took it and Remus pulled her to her feet.

* * *

It was an hour later, and Remus was lying in his room while the Arrow was being unloaded and tested. Eva had gone out to see. Remus had decided what he need most was rest. Next to his bed was a backpack. In it were all his possessions: five books (Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul 1-3, Taste Berries for Teens and Chicken Soup Journal), rusty chains falling out of the backpack, two notebooks, some pens and pencils, two shirts and jeans and a worn blanket. 

It had taken Don an hour to locate the Whizzing Arrows, during which Remus had run back to Don's house and found his stuff. He had been unwilling to leave them alone for an unknown amount of time. During everything that had happened since, Remus had forgotten that he'd placed it inside the truck the Arrows were on while he'd been working.

Finding it amongst the luggage had been a huge relief. Remus wasn't sure what he would've done if he didn't have his things.

"Hello there, Earthling!"

Remus jumped. "Setis! What are you doing here? How did you get in here?"

"I just came to say hello! Now what's so wrong with that?" Setis said.

"Nothing if you ask PERMISSION to come into MY ROOM!" Remus shouted. "I need REST, Setis!"

Setis scrambled back as Remus made to swipe at him. Remus stopped halfway through, snarling. He turned his back on Setis.

"You're Lupanian," Setis said. "I see. You're stressed. You really _do_ need rest."

"Nice for you to notice."

"If you need anything, there is a money exchange building for you to go to. It will convert your money to silver and gold – that's accepted everywhere."

"Thank you, Setis," Remus said, lying back on the bed again.

"I have only one question for you, though, Lupanian," Setis said.

"My name's Remus," Remus said.

"Yes, well, Remus why aren't you with the Lupanian team?"

Remus shot up. "What Lupanian team?"

But Setis was gone. Remus looked around, confused, then fell back against the bed and closed his eyes. "Probably speaking nonsense…" he muttered and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Koji was looking worried. "With the equipment we brought it'll take hours to make more fuel…" 

"I saw a parts store on the way here!" Eva said excitedly. This was her chance to prove her worth! "They've gotta have some, don't they? I mean, it's not an uncommon thing, is it?"

"I guess it's worth a shot," Stan said.

"Alright!" Eva jumped on her rocket scooter and flew off.

* * *

"There it is," Eva muttered as she came closer. She stopped her scooter and got off. She ran inside. "Hi," she said to the alien at the counter, "I need a liter of rocket fuel, please." 

"Sure thing," the alien said and went into the back.

After a minute, Eva began drumming her fingers on the counter impatiently.

Someone laughed next to her. "You know that drumming won't make him move faster, right?"

Eva turned to look at the person…only to find herself looking at their waist… Her gaze traveled up the person's fur covered body to stare into the eyes of a wolf. Eva gulped. "Ah…"

"It's okay," the werewolf said. "I don't bite."

Eva grinned sheepishly. "Oh yeah…that's right, I forgot…"

"You forgot?"

"I have a friend who's a Lupanian, too," Eva said. "He explained this whole thing to me…"

"I see. Who's this friend of yours? Is he cute?" the Lupanian woman asked.

Eva blushed. "I guess so, I haven't really thought about it…" She studied the Lupanian woman in front of her. She had reddish fur that was especially long around her head—as if it were hair—that was braided with feathers in the beads. It gave her in Indian vibe. But what Eva noticed most was that her eyes were the same dark, forest green shade as Remus'.

"Here you go," the alien said. "One liter full. That's ten gold coins and five silver."

"Er…" Eva suddenly realized she didn't have that kind of money.

"Here you go," the Lupanian woman said. She took the money out of her moneybag and placed it on the counter.

"Thanks," Eva said. "I owe you one."

"Don't worry about it."

"Thanks," Eva said gratefully. "I'll see you around, then." She ran out of the store with a wave and jumped onto her rocket scooter.

* * *

Remus was staring at the ceiling of his room. Setis had said that there was a Lupanian team…could he be right? Remus sat up with a sigh. "I guess I'll have to go ask Don then… Hurray…" 

But first, he knew he'd have to clean up. Don and the others were at the opening ceremonies and Don would kill Remus if he showed up all dirty and covered in blood.

Remus got up and rushed into the bathroom. After hurriedly taking a shower, he came back into his room and pulled out a fresh set of clothes—a light gray t-shirt, a pair of jeans and a belt. He ran a comb through his hair and then rushed out of the room and out of the hanger.

* * *

Remus stood, his arms crossed, watching the races begin. He had figured that he would be able to spot if there were a Lupanian team for himself, but out of the 96 team symbols, he hadn't see _one_ that looked like it could be a Lupanian symbol. Although, there was one that looked like some sort of Japanese letter, but he wasn't sure… And he hadn't seen any Lupanians—human looking or otherwise. 

Remus sighed. He hadn't even been able to see Don Wei or the others. You would've figured they'd stick out like a sore thumb, wouldn't you? But either they were lost in the crowd or else they were back at the hanger. Remus figured he'd try back at the hanger.

He turned around—and froze. His noise twitched. He sniffed several times. There was something…it smelled like pine…like the forest…the Lupanian smell…

Remus spun around—but there was no one there.

"Must've been my imagination," Remus sighed. He turned and left.

* * *

"Hey, Eva," Remus said. He was sitting on top of a building, watching Rick race. "Eh…you okay? You look a little pale." 

"I just…I don't know…I felt like something was wrong…but…" Eva shook her head. "I guess it was just my imagination."

"Why did you think something was wrong?" Remus asked.

"I don't know, actually," Eva said. "I was watching him race and he was getting rammed by Groor and then, I don't know, I just suddenly had this vision of a Star-racer exploding…I don't know what it was…but it must've been nothing."

Remus nodded as she stood up and shouted, "Go, Rick!"

Remus narrowed his eyes in thought, his arms wrapped around his knees. Eva had thought something was wrong. As they watched Rick speed toward the finish line, Remus wondered if she was right. It was true that he hadn't felt anything terrible was going to happen, but his instincts were like an animal's and if an animal felt an earthquake coming, the only warning you might get might be a second before it started.

Rick was almost there.

Panic ripped through Remus. He jumped to his feet. "HE'S GONNA CRASH!"

The Star-racer exploded.

_**Chapter preview: Grave Like Groor – **Eva jumped down from the Star-racer and glared in the direction her father had disappeared in, then stamped her foot and shouted, "Darn it!" again. Remus sighed. _

"_Sorry, Eva," he said. "Maybe next time, eh?" It was then he noticed a sly grin spreading across her face as she looked at her rocket scooter. She grabbed a wrench._

"_Uh…Eva…what're you doing?" Remus asked nervously._

"_I'm going to fly, Remus, whether he likes it or not," Eva said. _

"_Maybe that's not such a good idea… I mean, you just tried and you can't even reach the pedals…"_

"_Not with _that_ seat, I can't," Eva said, "but with _this_ I can." She grabbed her rocket scooter._

"_We're going to be _so_ dead when Don find's out…" Remus groaned. Then he picked up the rocket scooter and helped her lift it up to the cockpit. _

If you want to see a drawing I did of Remus, go to ww w. fanciful freelancer. m (just take out the spaces) and go to my gallery. The picture's titled, 'Remus Lycaon - OSR OC'


	5. Grave Like Groor

Moon and Star

Ch.5: Grave Like Groor

Remus walked through the still silent hanger, wandering aimlessly. The Earth team was down a pilot and with no replacement. Remus suddenly stopped. _Wait…Don brought two racers, two mechanics and yet he didn't think to bring a second pilot? What the heck is with that?_

It was early in the morning. Sunlight barely touched the dark blue sky, but Remus went to a window and was able to see the blackness contaminated by pink and yellow on the horizon. He went into the wreck room and sat down in one of the chairs.

What was the earth team going to do? There was no pilot. Eva could fly her scooter well, but there was a difference between a scooter and a Star-racer. Jordan might be able to fly it, although Remus pegged him more as the 'destroy stuff' guy and not the 'keep stuff from being destroyed' guy. Stan and Koji were just mechanics. And there was no way that Don could fly.

That left Remus.

And he'd never flown a Star-racer. He'd never even driven a rocket scooter. He had the strength to control a Star-racer that was certain. But then what was to say Eva didn't?

_All right, okay, so it's really between me and Eva, right? Well, then, if Eva wants the position, she can have it,_ Remus thought. He shook his head. He tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling and closed his eyes.

He heard someone walking towards the door. He glanced at the doors to see Jordan entering, rubbing his eyes with Stan and Koji behind him.

Remus raised an eyebrow.

Koji saw him. "Don wanted us all in here," he explained. "He just came and woke us all up. He'll be here soon."

Remus groaned. "Here we go…"

* * *

Don Wei had just stated the obvious ("We've been granted a rematch but we have no pilot") and Remus was certain that if he hit that rolled up piece of paper against his other hand one more time he, Remus, was going to snap.

_Rap…rap…rap…_ Went the paper against Don's hand.

Remus bared fangs as he started out of the chair. At that moment, though, Don dropped the hand holding the paper to his side. Remus hesitated. Don walked up to Jordan and placed a hand on Jordan's shoulder.

"Jordan, my boy, I know you'll make a fine pilot."

Remus smirked. _This oughta be good…_ Eva flicked the back of his head. He spun around to glare at her. She gave him a look that clearly said, 'be nice.'

"Tch." _Only if he is._

Remus also couldn't help but notice how Jordan looked extremely nervous—and smelled fearful.

* * *

Remus joined Eva outside the hanger and sat down against the doorway. He watched as Jordan entered the cockpit.

"Hey, Remus, what're you doing here?" Eva asked. "I thought you'd be up in the control room with the others. I know you love bugging Don Wei."

"Yeah, but I don't know how well he'd take me poking his side, saying, 'bother, bother, bother,' over and over again," Remus said. "At least not today." (1)

"I don't know how well he'd take that _any_ day," Eva said.

Remus thought about that a moment. "I guess you're right. See ya."

He got up and ran to the control room.

Don Wei was sitting in a chair while Stan and Koji rolled around in theirs, checking the stats on the Arrow 2.

"Now, relax, Jordan," Koji said, "and push the red button on your left."

Jordan looked to the right.

"No! Your _other_ left! Focus, please," Koji said.

Don began to look worried.

"Hey, Don, is there another chair I can sit in?" Remus asked.

"No," Don said.

"Fine." Remus sat on Don's lap.

"Remus, what the—? Get off of me!" Don demanded, pushing Remus forward.

Remus leaned back. "Nuh-uh…not until I get my own chair."

Stan turned around to look at them. "Remus, please, we _all_ need to focus."

"I'm focused," Remus said.

"Get off!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Okay, so D's not happy, but…he's not important."

Stan sighed. "Come on, Remus."

"Do I get a cookie?" Remus asked.

"What? I don't have a cookie."

Remus crossed his arms and pouted. "Then I'm not moving."

"Um…I have a cookie," Koji said, rummaging through his pocket.

"Really?" Remus asked eagerly. Then he looked at Koji suspiciously. "Why do you have a cookie in your pocket?"

"I like cookies," Koji said. "What's wrong with that?" He pulled the chocolate chip cookie out of his pocket.

"COOKIE!" Remus lunged at Koji. He nearly bit Koji's fingers off, grabbing the cookie and shoving it in his mouth. He gulped down the cookie. "Thanks, Koji! One day I'll repay you by sticking you in my pocket and feeding you Skittles!" (2)

"Uuuhh…"

"Jordan, what're you doing!" Stan cried.

Remus looked at the screen. Jordan was panicking and pulling at the steering controls.

"AH! Guys help me! Get me outta this thing!"

Remus watched in awe as Jordan flew around nearly crashing into things. He was too busy admiring just how many things you could nearly hit to laugh.

The Star-racer hit the ground.

Jordan had some how been flipped upside down so that all that showed on the screen was his feet up in the air. Remus glanced at Don Wei and the look on his face finally caused Remus to burst out laughing and fall to the floor, arms wrapped around his stomach.

Stan rolled his eyes as he stood and walked toward the door, stepping over Remus as he went.

* * *

"Well, the Arrow's not too badly damaged," Stan said, looking at the Arrow. "It's just a dent really, and you can't even tell its there unless you're looking for it."

"It was good for a first try, Jordan," Koji said.

"But that's just it," Jordan said, sitting down in front of the Arrow. "I've taken lessons. My teacher retired after teaching me."

Remus couldn't help but feel slightly smug. _That's what he gets for being xenophobic to Lupanians,_ he thought. He smirked at Jordan from where he was sitting against the door frame.

"And now he works with small animals," Koji whispered to Stan. They both started snickering.

Then they saw Don looking at them. He got a creep smile on his face. He looked at them with open arms. "Stan…Koji…"

"Sorry, sir, Koji and I are simple mechanics," Stan said awkwardly. "We were never meant to fly…"

Koji brought his screen board up to block his face. "Uh, sorry, sir, I'm just a mechanic."

Don sighed heavily.

Eva saw her chance and jumped. "Well, I guess that just leaves me! I'm a great pilot, honest! Well…I've never been behind the wheel of a real Star-racer before, but a machine is a machine is a machine, right?"

"While I appreciate your sense of duty, Molly, I refuse to let an outsider, let alone a girl sacrifice herself for our team," Don said firmly.

Remus looked at him, eyebrow raised. _Just who is he trying to kid…? _

Don turned to Remus. "Remus, can you fly?"

Remus was silent a moment, turning that over in his mind. "Well," he said seriously, "I've got the strength, no doubt, but I'm not sure about the skill. Perhaps, I could learn enough in the next two hours to be able to fly adequately. But certainly not great and probably not well enough to beat Groor…but about that I guess we'll have to see, won't we?"

Remus got his feet. He remembered Eva telling him more about her mother last night after Remus had asked more about the 'vision' she'd had. They had come to the conclusion that Eva had simply remembered the day her mother crashed because the race had brought it back. Perhaps he could use Eva's mother's success as a racer to convince Don to let Eva try for pilot. "But why don't you try E first? After all, there was a woman champion, but being a racing manager, I'm sure you've heard about that. She was one of the best, after all."

Don's eyes widened ever so slightly before he frowned again. "Her success doesn't have anything to do with Molly."

Remus blinked. _Well, that didn't work. But I'm starting to really want to see the look on his face when he finds out who 'Molly' really is._

"All right, then," Remus said. He pushed the ladder against the Arrow and climbed up inside. "Um…we have a problem. I can't reach the foot pedals."

Don sighed. "Fine…"

Remus closed his eyes and fell into a meditative state. He transformed into his Lupanian form. His feet touched the pedals easily. "I could race like this," Remus said, his voice gaining a raspy, growling edge. "But I don't know if they'd let me. I don't look human anymore…although, done carefully, we could see to it that they never notice…but its too much a risk. I'd just ask for a reprieve or something."

"It's a chance we'll have to take," Don said firmly. "Remus, can you turn it on?"

"Yeah," Remus said. He pressed the button. The Arrow 2 came alive. It rose into the air while the landing gear folded up into the body. Everybody got out of the way. Stan and Koji ran up to the control room.

Remus pushed down gently on the gas pedal. The Arrow moved forward. It bobbed down a bit but Remus pulled back a bit on the arm controls. It leveled out. He brought it down to the lake near the hanger.

Glancing around quickly, he found a small screen by his arm. He turned it on. "Okay, Koji, Stan, what do I do now?"

"Take it for a little spin," Koji said, "but keep it simple. Don't try anything fancy."

"Right. Got it," Remus said. He pressed down on the gas pedal and shot forward. "Woah! Didn't mean to do that!" But he didn't let up either. He was going to have to go fast to beat Groor. He went around the outside of the pond once. Then he flew through the middle. He hit the breaks and clumsily dodged around the pillars rising from the water, but he didn't crash into any of them.

He brought it back to land and stopped, hovering in the air. "Uh, guys…which one of these buttons lands the thing?" he asked, looking around in confusion and slight panic.

"It's the blue button on your right."

Remus found it and pushed it. The landing gear unfolded, the Arrow 2 gently lowered to the ground and the engines shut off.

Remus wiped a hand across his forehead. "Wow…well, at least I didn't die a horrible, fiery death…" _But really, it should be Eva in here…_

* * *

"You were right, Remus," Don said. "You're not good enough to defeat Groor… We'll have to ask for a reprieve."

"But you didn't hit anything," Eva muttered to Remus.

"True, but I was going about five miles per hour and _still_ had all the grace of a blind man playing darts while I was dogging those pillars," Remus whispered back. "I could learn, yes, and I'm better than Jordan, yeah, but I'm not good enough to learn how to win in race conditions."

Remus paused. Then he leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "But you could do it."

"What? Is that something you sensed?"

"No. This is pure blind faith in a friend because from what I understand friends are supposed to believe in each other," Remus said. "Unless I've read wrong."

"What do you mean, 'read wrong'?" Eva asked. "Haven't you had any friends?"

"Not many," Remus said. "And those are far and few between."

"Oh…"

"But I'm calling you my friend…my best friend, in fact. And I believe in you. I know you could win this whole thing if you were given a chance," Remus said.

"Thanks…" She turned to Don and said louder, so he could hear, "I can fly."

"I've already told you, Molly," Don said, "I won't let an outsider fly."

"What do you think Remus is?" Eva exclaimed. "He's not supposed to be here either!"

But Don ignored her as he walked out of the hanger.

"Wait! We're coming with you!" Stan said. "We can prove it was sabotage, I know it!"

Eva glared at her father's back. "Darn it!"

It was only a moment before she pushed the ladder against the Arrow and climbed up into the cockpit.

"Eva," Remus said, "if I couldn't reach the pedals, you won't be able to either. We're the same height!"

Eva climbed down from the Star-racer and glared in the direction her father had disappeared in, then stamped her foot and shouted, "Darn it!" again. Remus sighed.

"Sorry, Eva," he said. "Maybe next time, eh?" It was then he noticed a sly grin spreading across her face as she looked at her rocket scooter. She grabbed a wrench.

"Uh…Eva…what're you doing?" Remus asked nervously.

"I'm going to fly, Remus, whether he likes it or not," Eva said.

"Maybe that's not such a good idea… I mean, you just tried and you can't even reach the pedals…"

"Not with that seat, I can't," Eva said, "but with this I can." She grabbed her rocket scooter.

"We're going to be so dead when Don find's out…" Remus groaned. Then he picked up the rocket scooter and helped her lift it up to the cockpit.

"Aw, Remus, I thought you had faith in me," Eva said.

"I do," Remus said. "But something's telling me that this might not be such a good idea. I mean, what if you lose? Theoretically. There's no way Don would let you fly again. He'd make me fly. I'd crash the Arrow. I don't want to crash. I have a thing against crashing. I want to live.

"Then, what if you win? Don told you that he doesn't want to you fly. There's no guarantee that he won't make me fly anyway, even if you win. He'd probably do it just to spite you, after all."

Eva was silent. "He wouldn't do that."

Remus frowned. "It's been ten years. You've already acknowledged that he's not the same. But okay. We'll try it anyway. I don't know if it can really hurt…well, actually, yeah, it can, but whatever…"

* * *

It was an hour and fifteen minutes later when Remus and Eva were finished.

"I'll make sure that the tanks are full," Remus said. He jumped down from the cockpit and checked the tanks. He gave a thumbs up to Eva. He climbed back up into the cockpit and pushed the ladder away.

Eva closed the cockpit and sat down on her rocket seat. "Alright…let's do this…the red button right?"

"Right," Remus said. Then he looked through the windshield. "Uh…Eva…you might want to step on it."

"Why?"

"Don's back."

"Oh…" Eva quickly pressed the button.

As the Arrow 2 rose into the air, Remus saw Don Wei yelling and motioning for the Arrow to set down. Oddly, he was wearing a helmet and a scarf. _What the…?_

"You know, D looks like he's going to fly it," Remus said. "Maybe we should let him."

"Are you serious? He'd kill himself," Eva said.

"Well, that'd solve a few problems," Remus said.

"Remus! That's my dad!" she cried.

Remus shrugged. "So?"

"REMUS!"

Remus clamped his hands over his ears. "What?" he hissed miserably. "I'm sorry, okay? Don't yell at me." He whined the last part.

"Just shut up and hold on," Eva said. Then she jumped as Jordan landed on the windshield.

"Molly, put this thing down, right now!"

"No, Jordan, we can still win this race!" Eva said determinedly.

Jordan paused, glanced at Don Wei…then nodded. He made his way down toward the entrance to the gun tube so he could enter the gun turret.

After a moment, Eva said, "Jordan, you in there?"

"Yeah, I'm in," he said.

"Alright, here we go," Eva said and pressed down gently on the gas pedal. The Arrow moved forward. Stan, Koji and Don ducked down. Once the Arrow was out of the hanger, Don chased after it, running along side, yelling.

"Molly, you get back here right now, put the Arrow down—!" He ran faster as Eva sped up slightly.

Eva waved and smiled. "Don't worry, we'll be back before dark!"

Remus grinned; they high-fived, and the Arrow took off toward the track.

* * *

Remus paled slightly as the Arrow skidding to a stop. _Maybe this was a bad idea…No. No! Be strong…have faith…have faith…_ Remus looked up and saw Groor's ship. _Oh, holy God…we're going to die… _

One of the spaces in the circle dropped…then the second…then the circle blocking the entrance dropped. The Arrow shot forward at top speed.

Remus lurched, falling backward.

The Arrow hit something.

Remus shouted as the Star-racer spun around. He lunged forward, grabbing Eva's arm. He was screaming. "AAAHHH!!!"

"Remus! Shut up!"

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! OH MY GOD! WE'RE ALL GOING TO FRIGGIN' DIE!"

Eva managed to get the Arrow under control. Remus stopped screaming, but was hyperventilating.

"Molly, you're steering system is too basic for the Arrow 2!" came Don Wei's voice through a speaker. His face appeared on a screen near the control system. "Do you copy!" They were flying through a tunnel.

"We wouldn't be in this mess if you had given me a trail run!" Eva shot back.

"Molly," Don growled, "you are not the Earth team pilot!" He slammed his hand against something.

"Okay, Molly," Koji said, "if you increase the thrust of your side reactors that should increase stability."

"Finally, some good advice," Eva said.

She crashed into a wall (Remus was thrown to the side) but she increased the thrusters and the Arrow began to fly smoothly. She sped up.

"Koji, you're a genius!" Eva exclaimed.

"I'm only a humble mechanic," Koji said, but, even though he couldn't see him, Remus knew Koji was grinning.

They exited the tunnel.

Jordan fired at Groor. The lasers bounced of harmlessly.

"Eva, we need a new strategy," Remus said. He gripped part of the rocket seat as Groor flew over them. "Eva…hit the breaks!"

Eva pressed a button on her handlebars. Panels shot out of the side of the engines as the Arrow stopped sharply. Groor hit the ground where they had been a moment before.

"Fly over him!"

Eva turned the handles on her rocket seat and pulled back. The Arrow shot up over Groor. Groor pulled up. He hit the bottom of the Arrow. Then he ducked to the side and smashed them against a wall.

"You robbed Groor of a victory that was rightfully his," Groor said, coming over a screen in front of them. Remus looked around the screen so he could see the track. "Today your humiliation will be complete. I will give you a thirty second head start. Then I will crush you."

The screen disappeared. Groor's ship pulled away from them.

Eva pulled ahead slightly.

"Come on," she muttered. "I need to go faster…" She was pressing buttons.

The Arrow went slightly faster.

"Come on…"

Suddenly the buttons Eva pressed glowed and a circle on the screen connected all the way around. Remus couldn't tell what it was or what the circles meant, but he didn't think it could be good.

"What…?" Remus said.

The Arrow barreled forward like a bullet. Remus was thrown back. He hit the back wall of the cockpit. He was pinned there by the force.

"E…va…what the heck?" Remus said.

Eva was gripping the handles tightly as the speed threatened to throw her backward. She forced herself to lean forward. The Arrow shot out over the water as Eva turned sharply.

"Eva! We're going to win!" Remus said excitedly.

The engines turned off…the landing gear came out…The Arrow landed on the sand and began to roll towards the finish line…

"It's stopping…" Eva said. "Why…?"

"We must be out of gas," Remus growled. "That thing we just did…the hyperdrive…it must've eaten up all the fuel… We can make it…but we'll just have to crawl…"

Remus' head whipped around to look at the canyon—Groor shot out and was eating up the distance between them.

"No…" Eva said. "We're not going to lose…no way…" She began to turn the racer.

"Eva, what're you doing?" Remus demanded.

"Molly, what—?" came Jordan's voice.

"Jordan, aim for the joints, now! Full power!"

"Got it!" Jordan said. He began firing with everything he had. Sparks lit up the front of Groor's ship. Remus thought he saw something fly of the ship.

Groor was getting closer—he was going to hit the Arrow!

Groor's ship fell apart into two pieces. The pieces crashed to the ground. They skidded around the Arrow. It was several seconds before Remus could properly process that they were still alive and that Groor's ship was destroyed. They had won. They just needed to cross the finish line.

"Eva…we did it," Remus said blankly. Then his eyes widened. "Holy crud! We did it! Hurry, cross the finish line before we have to get out and push this thing!"

Eva laughed and turned the Arrow around. They rolled slowly toward the finish line. Once they crossed it, however, the crowd erupted in cheering. Eva opened the cockpit and sighed, slumping over the handlebars.

Remus clamped a hand on her shoulder.

"Nice job," he said. "You rule."

"Thanks…You rule, too."

"I know I do."

"What about me?" Jordan said.

Remus hesitated. Then he remembered that Jordan had put enough faith in them to join them. "Okay, yeah. You rule too. Nice shooting."

"Nice instructions," Jordan said. "It was pretty cool how you figured out that Groor was going to try and crush us into the ground. Nice going."

"Thank, E," Remus said, remembering to call her by the nickname now that others could hear. "She was the only who acted on them without question. Plus, she got the idea to shoot apart Groor's ship. You know, I think we make a pretty good team."

"You know," Jordan mused, "I think you're right. We rock!"

Eva and Remus shared a high five.

"Don't worry, Jordan," Eva said. "We'll share one with you too once we get back to the hanger."

"You'd better," Jordan said.

* * *

Half and hour later, they were back at the hanger. Eva, Jordan and Remus stood in front of the Arrow 2, and Eva and Jordan shook hands. Jordan and Remus hesitated…then shook hands as well.

They all looked at the Arrow 2, feeling proud. They had won their first race.

Don Wei entered the Arrow's keep. "Well, you should be very proud of yourselves," he said.

Eva, Remus and Jordan all smiled at each other.

"Because I have never seen a more terrible race in my entire career," Don said angrily, walking down the stairs. He glared at Eva. "You, Molly, and you—Remus—have disobeyed orders, damaged our last Star-racer and needless risked your lives, the life of your partner and the life of your manager." It was then Remus noticed that Don's arm was in a sling—but he found he couldn't bring himself to care.

"But—but," Eva stuttered. Remus narrowed his eyes and gnashed his teeth together. His fists clenched.

"But, but, nothing," Don snapped. "Jordan, your disobedience is even more intolerable." He walked past Eva and Remus to stand in front of Jordan. "Unlike your accomplices, you are an official member of this team and a trained professional!"

"Sorry," Jordan said quietly. "Sorry I let you down, sir."

Eva clenched her fists and growled. She turned around to face Don Wei. "But this is ridiculous," she said. "We won the stupid race, we won!"

Don didn't turn to face her as he said, "You owe your victory to a reckless stunt, young lady. Groor was the better race from beginning to end. We came as ambassadors and now…" Don turned, his eyes closed as if in pain and started back toward the stairs. "We are the laughing stock of the entire competition. Everyone start packing… The Earth team is withdrawing from the race."

For several seconds, they stood still in shocked silence. But this was the last straw for Eva. She ran over to the stairs. "But we won the race! We won!" she shouted. She growled when Don didn't even acknowledge her. She viciously kicked a toolbox. It flew into the air and hit a wall.

"I'm so out of here," Eva said, tears in her eyes. She ran out of the hanger.

"Molly, wait!" Jordan said. Then he muttered, "Aw, man, girls…they're way too sensitive…"

Remus gave Jordan a disbelieving look. _Too sensitive…about this? That's a stupid thing to say, even if you don't know the whole story…_

Remus and Jordan turned to look at Don who had stopped at the top of the stairs to watch Eva run away.

Don turned around and continued walking.

Remus looked back at Eva who was running as fast as she could down the road. He took off after her.

"E! Wait up!" he cried. "E!"

* * *

As Don Wei stood behind the desk in his room, opening the connection to the President of the Earth Coalition, he thought back to the race. He wondered, suddenly, why Remus had called Molly 'Eva' the entire time only to stop when Jordan had entered the conversation.

**_Chapter preview: In like Flint –_** _Remus stopped, resting his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. Eva was still running, but Remus found himself winded—and he was used to running long distances…but then again, he didn't have the emotion driving him necessary to run full out like Eva. He'd learned that pain could be a very motivating factor. _

Stupid Don…what's his problem? Him and his stupid pride… He's just mad that he was wrong about Eva, is all…moron…

_Remus took several deep breaths and started running through the crowd again, dogging people as he went. The crowd thickened suddenly and he ran smack into someone. He fell back, but the person grabbed his arm and held him steady. _

"_Thanks, sorry about that, though, I wasn't looking—" Remus froze. _

Standing in front of him was another Lupanian…

(1) The 'bother, bother, bother' comment came from Harry Potter Puppet pals and the skit, 'Bothering Snape.'

(2) Ah, Koji and the Skittles…that came from the Stan and Koji thread under Characters at the official Oban Star-racers forum. Here's the link to the forum. Just take out the spaces. http//www.oban /forum/index. php My screen name there is Inside a Writer's Mind, in case you're curious...

Another thing. Even though Remus could fly—well enough not to kill himself—I left in the bit about Don wanting to fly because, judging by the episode, it looked like he had been insulted somehow and that was why he was going to fly—to show up whoever had insulted him. That's why I left it in there.

Please review! I love reviews! Reviews make the world go round.

Constructive criticism is appreciated. Flames are not. Don't worry, I know the difference so don't be afraid to speak your mind.


	6. In Like Flint

Disclaimer: Still don't own. But I do own my Lupanians and the Jubalins. (hugs Remus tightly) My spin off of werewolves! Mine! (looks at Remus) Eh…you aren't nearly huggable enough. (proceeds to squeeze to death a fluffy rabbit creature).

Okay, it might be a little confusing…but I'm going to be switching between calling Eva 'Eva' and calling her "Molly'. I'm doing this because if I'm telling part of the story from Jordan's point of view, I can't be calling her Eva because Jordan doesn't know that's her real name yet.

Moon and Star

Ch.6: In Like Flint

Remus stopped, resting his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. Eva was still running, but Remus found himself winded—and he was used to running long distances…but then again, he didn't have the emotion driving him necessary to run full out like Eva. He'd learned that pain could be a very motivating factor.

_Stupid Don…what's his problem? Him and his stupid pride… He's just mad that he was wrong about Eva, is all…moron…_

Remus took several deep breaths and started running through the crowd again, dogging people as he went. The crowd thickened suddenly and he ran smack into someone. He fell back, but the person grabbed his arm and held him steady.

"Thanks, sorry about that, though, I wasn't looking—" Remus froze.

Standing in front of him was another Lupanian…

Remus stared up at the Lupanian. His fur was a dusty brown, but he had brilliant gold eyes. On his hands, he wore fingerless leather gloves. But what caught Remus' eye the most was the forest green cape that was fastened around the neck by a gold chain and was positioned so that it covered the right side of the Lupanian's body and fell around its ankles.

The Lupanian looked down at him, giving off an aura of confidence and power. Remus felt his knees automatically bend—a sign of submission. A whine escaped his throat.

The Lupanian looked surprised. "You…you're Lupanian…"

_Setis wasn't lying,_ Remus thought. The sent of a pack clung to the Lupanian and attacked Remus senses. _A pack…_

Remus tore his eyes from the Lupanian's. _This can wait…I need to find Eva…_

Suddenly, one sent jumped out at him. It smelled like his father…but different…

Remus couldn't breathe. _Could I have family in that pack…?_

"I said, who are you?" the Lupanian demanded louder.

"R…Remus Lycaon," Remus said. Then he ran.

* * *

Remus finally found Eva in a bar, drowning her sorrows…in milk. He sat down next to her. "You know," he said, "it'd work better with alcohol."

Eva glanced at him. "Hi, Remus," she said quietly.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Eva was silent for a moment. "You know, when my dad left me at Boarding School, I had no idea that was what was happening… The place was like a fortress… I was scared, clinging to his shirt… He handed me over to a woman—the principal—and got back in the car. I ran to his window and he rolled it down, but…"

"But what?"

"He said… 'I need to you be a good girl, Eva. Daddy's too busy to take care of you now. Surely, you can understand.'" Her grip tightened on her drink. "I was only five…how could I understand?"

Remus was silent.

"Maybe it was just his way of dealing," Remus said. "Cutting himself off from everything about his past…"

Eva gnashed her teeth and glared at Remus.

"No, no, wait, listen to me," Remus said. "Not everyone deals with pain the same way. Not everyone deals with it in a healthy manner. Not everyone deals with it. I think your dad's way of dealing with it was not dealing with it."

"Would he have abandoned my mom if _I_ had died?" Eva asked quietly.

"I don't know," Remus said. "If you're anything like your mother then she probably would've be able to force Don to go through the natural grieving process though, so maybe no, but it's a moot point, anyway, because you're alive."

Eva gave Remus a look.

Remus smiled at her. "Oh come, Eva, you've gotta admit that you're rather…strong willed."

Eva sighed. "I hate him…"

"You _wish_ you could hate him," Remus said, getting up from his chair. "And that makes all the difference. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go check up on something."

He left.

Eva sighed again and turned back to her drink. It was several moments before she realized that the bar had gone silent and that someone was standing next to her. She looked up and froze. Groor was standing there.

_Oh no…_

* * *

Remus ducked through the crowds, trying to sniff his way towards the Lupanian hanger. Unfortunately, there were so many smells and the smell of pine was coming in several directions, which told Remus that the Lupanian team was split up at the moment, but that didn't tell him if any of them were at a hanger. 

_Darn it, _he thought. _Okay…let's go and pick one and follow it._

He sniffed the air again. Then he turned and headed back in the direction of the Earth Hanger.

* * *

"You know," Eva said, "you could've won. You didn't have to give me that thirty second head start." 

Groor's eyes went wide. He wrapped a tentacle-like arm around Eva's neck and lifted her into the air.

"You robbed Groor of a victory he rightful deserved!"

"That's funny," Eva said. "That's exactly what my father said. You two should meet."

Groor threw Eva across the room. She hit a table, knocking it over and landed on Scrub.

* * *

Remus found himself back at the Earth Team hanger. The Lupanian from earlier was standing next to the Arrow, looking it over. 

"Hey! Who are you? What're you doing here?" Remus demanded.

The Lupanian turned to him. "Forgive me," he said. "My name is Duncan. I'm the Rider for the Lupanian team."

_Rider…?_ "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for you, actually," Duncan said. Remus forced himself to stand tall. He wouldn't submit to Duncan as if he were the pack leader. He wasn't Remus' alpha.

"What do you want?"

"I want to know what a Lupanian is doing with the Earth Team," Duncan said.

"Why shouldn't I be with the Earth Team? I'm from Earth," Remus said.

"Well, it's just that the Avatar gave us two separate invitations," Duncan said. "The universe sees us as different species. As do humans."

"We _are_ human," Remus insisted.

"No," Duncan said. "We only _look_ human."

* * *

"What's going on here?" Jordan demanded, pushing his way through the crowd around the bar entrance. He froze when he saw Molly up in the air, hitting Groor on the head with a stick, one of his tentacle arms wrapped around her neck. 

"Hang on, Molly, I'm coming!" Jordan shouted. He jumped on Groor's back.

Groor reached behind him and grabbed Jordan. Jordan was flung clear across the room and hit a wall.

"Jordan!" Molly cried. Then she jumped onto the counter and leapt at Groor. She hit him with the stick as she flew over him. She landed; the stick was broken. Her eyes went wide. "Not good."

She ran to Jordan and grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him. Jordan looked up at her. "Mommy, is that really you…?"

"JORDAN!"

* * *

"Where did you come from?" Remus asked. "Where do you live? I haven't seen many other Lupanians." 

"We live in the reservation on Yellowstone Park," Duncan said.

"There's a reservation on Yellowstone Park?"

"Yes. How didn't you know that?" Duncan asked. "We've been allowed to live there, maintaining the old ways for over twenty five years."

"Twenty five years? Isn't that about the time of the Crog attack?"

"Yes. It was about ten years before that the government realized that even though humans and Lupanians are different, they would need every hand they could get to fight the Crogs. The government knew that there was unease between the human citizens and the Lupanian ones. So it passed a law stating that Yellowstone was no longer just an animal reserve. It was a Lupanian one. The park is huge. There was plenty of room for us. The visitors have all but forgotten we live there. We only go near them when we need help or have some disturbance to report. We help them fight the fires and we help them monitor the park," Duncan said. "We all live peacefully now. Most Lupanians live on the park. That must be why you haven't seen any other Lupanians. But I have to ask: where did you live?"

"Among humans," Remus said.

"Ah…so your parents are _that_ sort," Duncan said, almost condescendingly.

"_What_ sort?" Remus snapped. He didn't like Duncan's tone.

"The human-loving sort," was the reply. "And I'll bet you are too. Although…I won't hold it against you. After all, if that's the way you've been raised…but I'll give you a chance… Why don't you join us?"

* * *

Eva took a step back as Groor came closer. _Oh no…this is not good…_ Jordan snapped out of it. 

"Heh…is that the best you can do?" Jordan got up and stood in front of Eva, ready to fight. He swayed. "Uh…" He righted himself and looked at Groor determinedly.

"Groor!" Prince Aikka said, jumping in front of Eva and Jordan. "Stop this!"

"This is none of your concern," Groor growled.

"It is when you are attacking beings inferior to you," Aikka said, pulling a dagger out of its sheath on his belt.

"I'm twice as strong as you," Groor said. He lunged at Aikka.

Aikka jumped over Groor and slashed one of the tubes on its body. Gas and steam poured out of it.

"But I'm twice as agile," Aikka said with a smirk. He slashed another one of the tubes.

The air became so thick with steam that Eva couldn't see for a moment. But then the steam was gone, and Aikka was standing over Groor, one foot on the machine-like beings chest, his dagger ready to cut the last tube on Groor's body—the one leading to his "mouth".

"Do you surrender?"

A moment later, the crowd around the entrance parted hastily as Groor stomped away, furious and humiliated once again.

* * *

Remus was filled with a sudden longing—someone was offering him a chance to be with his own kind, to join a pack, something every Lupanian needed (baring the rare lone wolf)…but then his mind caught up with his emotions. 

"No way," he said. "Not if _that's_ going to be your attitude."

Duncan's eyes widened slightly and his mouth opened a bit. He looked like he wanted to say something…but didn't. After a moment, he closed his eyes and turned, his cape swishing around his ankles.

"Very well, then," he said. He walked out of the hanger as Don Wei entered.

Remus turned to look at him as Don stood on the balcony, watching Duncan with mistrustful eyes, which he turned on Remus.

"Who was that?"

"Duncan," Remus said. "Apparently he's the Rider for the Lupanian team."

"Rider?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't get it either, sir."

"Why was he here?"

"Looking for me, he said."

"Why?"

"So he could ask me why a Lupanian was with the Earth Team," Remus said, getting a little annoyed. "Look, could we quit it with the twenty questions game, please? I'm not really in the mood right now."

Don frowned, but for once didn't say anything.

"Besides," Remus continued, "I think the race of Lupanian vs. …whatever they're called is next. If we want to know what they mean by 'Rider' what better way then by watching, huh?"

"We don't have time to go down and watch," Don said. "We have to prepare for our own race."

"Which is in an hour," Remus said. "Come on, Don, I mean, really. How long does a race take? Three minutes? Five minutes? I highly doubt the race is going to last an hour."

Don was silent. "Fine," he said. "Let's go."

* * *

"Thank you very much," Molly said. 

Aikka bowed to her. "The pleasure was all mine."

Jordan stepped between them. "Okay, show's over, Molly, let's go. Besides, I don't want to hang out all day with the lapdog for the Crogs."

"Jordan!" Molly exclaimed.

"The Nourasians are no one's lapdogs!" Aikka shouted, hand gripping the handle of his dagger.

Molly got between them. "Jordan, cut it out."

Aikka walked away furiously.

"Prince Aikka! Wait!" Molly cried, running after him.

Jordan scowled. _She cares more about that Prince then she does me,_ he thought. _I'm her partner. _He walked out after her.

Molly spun around to glare at him. "Jordan, have you gone off the deep end? Prince Aikka just saved your skinny neck!"

Jordan crossed his arms. "Well, no one asked him too." _I didn't ask him to show me up, _he thought. But he didn't say it. "At least Don Wei'll be happy. He wants _you_ to be the pilot of the Arrow 2."

"What?"

"Don Wei wants you to pilot the Arrow in the next race," Jordan said.

"That's not funny, Jordan," Molly said, glaring at the ground.

Jordan felt offended. _Why would I find something like that funny?_ "It's the truth. He sent me to find you."

"No way," Molly growled. "I'm so mad at him…"

_So? I thought you _wanted _to pilot the Arrow…?_ Jordan didn't understand what was going on at all. First Molly wanted to pilot so badly she hijacked the Arrow. The next she was so mad that she wasn't going to race. _Girls…they're so complicated…_

Molly cast a glance in the direction Aikka had disappeared. Then she ran towards the Earth Hanger. "Well, what are we doing here? Come on, Jordan!"

"Huh? Hey! Molly, wait up!"

* * *

Remus and Don stood at the top of the stadium. The place was packed and finding a seat looked like it was going to be more trouble than it was worth for one race. 

"Do you know who they're racing?" Don asked.

"No," Remus said. "But we'll find out soon enough, won't we?"

"The next race is the Jubalins versus the Lupanians," said one of the Scrubs up in the announcers box.

Out of one racer entrance came a ship that looked like it was made out of a tree trunk. Remus raised an eyebrow at the little rabbit like creature that's head poked out of the top of the ship to see. Remus guessed that the controls were inside the ship. The machine gun was on top. The Jubalin gunner's ears were long and floppy and when the Jubalin jumped up and down, waving at the crowd in response to the cheering, Remus couldn't help but wonder how it didn't step on its ears.

Out of the second racer entrance bound a dusty brown wolf with striking yellow eyes. Its tongue was hanging out of the side of its mouth and its eyes were alight with good humor. Around its mouth was sort of bridle. A leather strap wrapped around the wolf's mouth at the very base of its snout with another, long leather strap attached to the strap on one side of the wolf's mouth, and attached on the other with plenty of slack for the Rider to hold the reigns loosely. On its back knelt Duncan, his cape still falling over one side of his body. In his left hand he held the reigns as though it were a formality—there was too much slack for him to do anything with them. His right hand appeared from under his cape to rest lightly on the wolf's back.

"Well, I guess now we know what he meant by 'Rider'," Remus said.

"Where did he get that thing?" Don whispered. "Its as big as bus."

"Yes, I think I can see that," Remus said. "But it doesn't matter where it came from. All that matters is how good he is."

"Well, he doesn't appear to have any weapons," Don said cautiously. "That's an advantage."

"Maybe…" Remus narrowed his eyes. _But I wouldn't be sure about that. _

"What do you mean 'maybe?'" Don asked.

"Well…maybe it's so obvious that we just don't see it," Remus said.

"But you do?"

"Maybe."

"Give me a straight answer, boy," Don said, frustrated.

"Well, you said yourself—" (the first barrier fell) "—that the wolf is as large as a bus—" (the second gate fell) "—if not larger. Maybe that's the weapon."

The gate fell. The Jubalin ship rushed forward. The wolf crouched down and, like a spring releasing, shot forward after them.

"How could the wolf be the weapon?" Don asked skeptically.

"Well, have you ever hit anybody with a bus?" Remus asked. "That's got to do some damage." Remus squinted. "Dang, I think that thing's as big as the Arrow 2."

"I'm sure it's just your eyes playing tricks on you," Don said.

"Hhhmmm…" Remus' eyes widened. "Here we go!"

"What?"

The wolf appeared to have stumbled. The Jubalins pulled ahead, the Jubalin gunner jumping around its post. It spun the gun around to point at the wolf.

Remus tensed.

Duncan smirked.

The gun fired.

The wolf jumped into the air and soared forward. The Jubalin pilot steered to the side just in time to avoid the wolf landing on it. The wolf continued running, lengthening its stride.

As Remus watched the race on the screen, he noticed Duncan pull something out of a pocket inside his cape. It looked like a long wooden tube and bag of white powder. He was carefully measuring it and pouring it into what looked like a dart.

Remus nudged Don's side. "Look!" he said.

"At what?"

Remus pointed at the screen. "At Duncan!"

"What's he doing?"

"I'm guessing…he's going to knock out the pilot," Remus said.

Duncan raised the tube to his mouth and blew hard.

Nothing happened. Remus wondered if Duncan had missed. Then the Jubalin ship began to sway. It drifted to the side and scrapped against the wall.

The wolf ran along side the ship. It fell back a tiny bit, and then jumped. Duncan leapt off its back and onto the ship. The Jubalin gunner shouted at him and turned the gun around to fire at him. Duncan grabbed the pilot by the back of its vest and lifted it up. He jumped down into the cockpit.

* * *

Duncan was suddenly very cramped. He looked around and found a lever next to the seat. He pulled it up and pushed back against the seat. It moved backward, giving him more legroom. He pulled the pilot down to sit on his lap. 

"What button stops the engines?" Duncan asked. He kept his eyes glued on the screen in front of him that showed the racetrack. He grabbed the handles and pulled back. The ship flew upward and over a rock jutting up out of the ground.

"Blue…" the pilot whispered, its head lolling to the side.

Duncan looked around. He found the button. He reached forward to the control panel and pressed it. He heard the landing gears come down immediately and felt the plane drop. He pulled back on the handles slightly so that the plane landed level and steered it around rocks until it rolled to a stop. Then he awkwardly stood up, placing the pilot back in the seat and lifted himself up out of the cockpit.

He gasped sharply. Bullets fired at his feet. He jumped back and ducked down as the gunner tried to hit him. The next thing he knew, his wolf had flown by, grabbing his cape in his mouth as it went. He was lifted into the air. Then the wolf tossed its head back and let him go. Duncan's blood froze for a brief moment before he landed on his steed's back.

They crossed the finish line thirty seconds later among thunderous applause.

Remus and Don stood there for a moment, not sure what to say.

"They're good," Don said.

"Molly's better," Remus said. He narrowed his eyes. _She has to be._

"Hhmm…" Don looked like he was thinking about something. "You called her Eva throughout the entire race yesterday. Why?"

Remus tensed. Don eyed him; it looked like Remus was debating something. His expression when Don had mentioned the name had definitely said something along the lines of "you _heard_ that?"

"It's just a nickname. That's all." Remus glanced at him.

Don looked like he wanted to press the issue.

"Ask me about it later," Remus said. "When I've had some time to…think it over a bit…"

* * *

Half an hour later, back at the hanger, Don Wei was pacing restlessly, his free arm rigidly at his side (the other was still in a sling). He looked up to scan the area for Jordan and Molly. They were running towards the hanger. 

"You are late, Molly, very late!" he said as she stopped in front of him. "You were so eager to race before, have you changed your mind?"

"No, sir, what made you change yours?" Molly demanded.

"That, young lady, is none of your concern," Don said.

"Please excuse, Molly, sir," Jordan said nervously, "she's had a rough morning. She's not quite herself today."

Molly rounded on Jordan. "Jordan, there are time to talk and times to be silent," she snapped. "Guess which one _this_ is."

Don had had it. "Get in the Arrow 2! Both of you!" he shouted.

They ran past him to the Arrow. He growled, shaking his head as he started up the starts towards the control room.

Without warning, the Arrow shot out of the hanger. Don gripped the railing tightly with one hand. "This is insane," he said. _She's not a real pilot. There's no way she can win._

He glanced over at Remus who was standing next to him, arms crossed. Don narrowed his eyes. _And why doesn't Remus want to tell me about a simple nickname. There's something going on here—something involving the two of them and I don't like it. I don't like being lied to. Who _is_ Molly? …Is that even her name?_

Remus turned to look at Don. "Sir? Don't you think we should be getting to the control room?"

'_Sir?' You only started calling me that this morning. You're definitely hiding something Remus. But being polite isn't going to keep you under the radar, oh, no its not. _

"Very well," Don said.

* * *

The Earth Team entered the area and faced the starting gate. Flint, their opponent, entered a second later. 

"This race will include a special rule," one of the Scrub announcers said, fishing around a bag full of red balls with white symbols on them. He pulled one out. "The trap circuit rule!"

Jordan was looking at the Scrub gunner and laughing. "This is gonna be easy."

Eva stared hard at the gate, willing it to fall. _I wouldn't be so sure,_ she thought.

The gate dropped. The racers shot forward. Almost immediately Marcel, the Scrub gunner, started shooting at them. Eva dropped, rose, spun and barrel rolled. Jordan shot back. He hit the side of the ship. The laser tore a hole through it.

"All right!" Jordan cheered.

"Jordan," Eva said. "Do you have any idea what this 'trap circuit' rule is all about?"

She got her answer almost immediately. She dogged and spun through what looked like spinning blades—only blunt so that they'd crush you instead of chopping you up.

The blades stopped after Eva went through them though. Flint flew through without a care.

"What?" Eva breathed.

"Molly, look out!" Jordan cried. "Up a head!"

Eva turned her eyes back to the track in front of her. "Ah!" There was a giant rolling ball with a tube going through it only big enough for a Star-racer. They shot through and up into the air. Eva grappled with the steering and controls but managed to bring the Arrow down safely and continued on immediately.

They flew past Flint. Jordan and Marcel started shooting at each other again. One of Marcel's lasers hit the Arrow. Eva growled. Then she fell back to race along side Flint.

Flint's face appeared on a screen on the control panel. "You'd better give up now, little one," Flint said. "There's no way you can win against the mighty Flint."

"You're mighty alright. A mighty cheat," Eva snapped.

Flint looked shocked. "Uh…"

"The race is rigged so only _I_ have to go through the traps," Eva said. "You should be ashamed."

Flint composed himself quickly. "It's not my fault I'm lucky. Besides, with my amazing natural talent, I could fly through these traps with my eyes closed."

"Okay, then, this one's all yours," Eva said. The Arrow fell back to fly behind Flint. "I'll keep my eyes closed."

"Alright. Watch and learn," Flint gloated.

They were coming up to two tunnels with blades in them. The blades in one started to swing back and forth. Flint headed toward that one. Eva flew into the other tunnel.

They both came out safely on the other side.

"Oh man! This guy's crazy!" Jordan exclaimed.

"Haha! What did I tell you? Never underestimate the mighty Flint," Flint laughed.

"Not bad," Eva said through clenched teeth. "I guess you're just plain lucky."

"Plain lucky, you say? Watch this!" Flint flew through a 'doorway' with a barrier starting to fall down. It stopped halfway. Eva dashed through the other one.

"I laugh at this trap!" Flint shouted as rocks began to rain down on the racers.

Eva stepped on the break, slowing down until the rocks stopped. Then she sped up. She cried out as they approached a maze of at least fifty circular gateways that were consistently opening and closing. She hit the break as the door slammed down. It opened again and she went through. Her eyes darted around. She flew through gate after gate, turning this way and that. When she finally found her way out, they were still in one piece. Flint came flying out a second later. His ship was torn to bits.

The Arrow 2 crossed the finish line; they had won.

* * *

Jordan stood at attention. "Sorry about not being at my best, sir!" 

"And sorry about the scratches on the Arrow 2." Eva was sort of slumped over, a little embarrassed and looking vaguely like she was wondering why she was apologizing at all.

Don was standing in front of them. For a moment, Remus, who was standing by the Arrow trying to get what looked like a scuffmark out of the side of it with his sleeve, wondered if Don was going to tell them off again for some imaginary offence.

Don smiled. It was the creepiest thing Remus had ever seen.

"Never mind. It was a great race," Don said, sounding…pleased. Remus' eyes widened and his shoulders slumped. Scratch that—_that_ was the creepiest thing Remus had ever seen.

"You two should take the evening off," Don said, placing a hand on Jordan's shoulder. "You deserve it." He placed a hand on Eva's shoulder briefly before walking out of the hanger.

Remus walked over to Eva and Jordan, staring after Don.

Jordan whispered to them, "Who was that guy? Don Wei's friendly clone?"

Remus nodded in agreement.

"That was Don Wei alright," Eva said with a slight smile. "Back to his old self again."

Jordan nodded in agreement. Then he paused. "What?"

* * *

Duncan walked into the Lupanian hanger slowly, his wolf's reigns hanging limply in his hand. His wolf nudged him gently, whining slightly. 

"It's fine," Duncan whispered, placing a hand on the wolf's nose. "I'm okay. Go and sleep now."

The wolf lowered its head so that Duncan could remove its bridle. Once that was done, the wolf walked to the center of the hanger and lay down. It fell asleep almost instantly.

"Duncan!"

Duncan looked up. On the balcony leading up to the second floor where the rooms and things were was a female Lupanian with long red-ish brown fur, locks of it braided with feathers in them, and forest green eyes.

"Great race today, huh?" she called happily.

Duncan gave her a quick, half-hearted smile. She frowned and ran down the stairs to him.

"Duncan, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Duncan sighed. "Lillian…"

"Lily. You know I hate it when people call me Lily. You especially," she said.

"There is a Lupanian with the Earth Team," Duncan said.

"Really? I know that the human girl I talked to said that she had a Lupanian friend, but I didn't know that he was here on Alwas with her," Lily said.

"I've spoken with him. He's lived among humans all his life. I offered for him to come live with us. He refused," Duncan said solemnly.

"So? Why are you so worried? Live and let live," Lily said. "Why does it matter how he lives his life?"

"Because he had black hair and green eyes… They were forest green eyes, Lily, just like yours…smelled a little like you, too, you and your father…"

Lily was staring at Duncan now. She took a small step back.

"His name is Remus Lycaon… Lily, I think he's your cousin."

_**Chapter preview: Cruel Like Ceres **– Eva sat on her rocket seat on the bridge, watching the Arrow 2 come closer. It was scrapping along side the track wall. "It's worse than I thought," she said. She started up the rocket seat and began to ride next to the track. The Arrow was next to her now. _

"_Here it goes!" she cried. She drove the rocket seat of the edge and jumped off. She landed hard on the gunner pit. She crawled off and held on to the guns for dear life. _

"_Molly!" Jordan shouted. _

_Eva pulled herself forward and wrapped her arms around the gun. She looked toward the cockpit. "I'm comin' Rick."_

If anyone call tell me the significance of Remus' first name and last, you get a chapter dedicated to you.

On another note, I'm going to try to update at least once a week, probably on Mondays or Fridays. I'll have to see how it works out.


	7. Cruel Like Ceres

Disclaimer: Still don't own Oban. Still DO own Remus, Duncan, Lily, Duncan's wolf, the Jubalins and Lupanians and Duncan's wolf.

**This chapter is dedicated to Star Fata who was closest. **

**Remus: one of the founders of ancient Rome raised by a she-wolf with his brother Romulus. **(Remus' first name has nothing to do with Remus Lupin from Harry Potter.)

**Lycaon: the word from which 'lycanthrope' is derived. Lycaon is a man from Greek mythology who served Zeus human flesh. As punishment, Zeus turned Lycaon into a more fitting form: a wolf, for he was more of a beast than a man. Lycaon is the first 'werewolf'. **(This is _one_ interpretation of his tale.)

Moon and Star 

Ch.7: Cruel like Ceres

Remus stood on the balcony, leaning against the railing, watching Stan and Koji work on the Arrow 2. _Eva's _not_ going to like this… Somebody's going to die… I hope its Don. That could fun. I could bet Jordan twenty bucks that she beats him to death. Heh, heh…_

At that moment, Don Wei and Rick entered the hanger.

"Good morning, sir," Remus said, turning to face them. "Hello, Rick. It's good to have you back." He held out his hand to Rick. Rick's lips quirked upward as he shook Remus' hand.

"It's nice to be back," Rick said.

Remus smiled at him. Then he glanced at Don and the look on his face made Remus feel uncomfortably like Don could see right through him.

* * *

Eva jumped out of bed and got dressed, then raced out into the hallway. "Wake up, Jordan!" she said eagerly, pounding on his door. She laughed and ran off as Jordan opened the door.

"Man, what's she so happy about?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Eva jogged out onto the balcony in the hanger. "Here's to you," she muttered. She started to take a sip of a juice box she'd grabbed on the way. Then she saw her rocket seat on the ground next to the Arrow and the old seat being lifted up into the cockpit.

"Hey! Stan, what are you doing?" she called down to him. He stopped working and looked up at her. "You know that seat's too big for me!"

"But it's perfect for me."

Eva spun to face the voice. "Rick! You're back…"

"Yeah, those Alwas doctors have technology that far surpasses our own," Rick said. "So I heard that you kept my seat warm."

"It was nothing…"

"Modesty's for losers," Rick said. Ruffling her hair affectionately, he continued, "Thanks, little mouse. I can't wait to hear all about it."

"Can't wait to tell you…"

Jordan came pelting around the corner. "RICK!" He grabbed Rick around the waist, his momentum forcing him to circle Rick once. He hugged Rick tightly. "Oh, man, Rick, it's so good to have you back! We really missed you around here!"

Rick tried to push Jordan away. "Hey! No huggin'! Doctor's orders!"

"You two catch up," Eva said. "I have to find someone."

Remus entered the hanger. "Oh, hi, Eva, how're you—"

Eva grabbed his arm and spun him back around. "You're coming with me."

"But I just got here!"

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Eva was outside the hanger. Rick was by the pond with the Arrow 2, getting ready to try it out. Remus had managed to slip away.

Don Wei was standing next to Koji who was checking the stats of the Arrow.

"Hey you!" Eva called.

Don ignored her.

Eva walked up to him furiously. "Why didn't you tell me Rick was coming back?"

"Now is not the time," Don said.

"It's never the time, is it?" Eva snarled. She stomped on his foot. With a strangled noise, he grabbed his foot. She started to walk away.

Don spun around. "Hey!" Then he noticed Koji watching him. He coughed and turned back to the Arrow.

Someone roared with laughter.

Don glared up at Remus who was sitting in a tree near the hanger. That only caused Remus to laugh harder, doubling over, clutching his sides. Subsequently, he fell out of the tree.

"OW, dang it!"

Eva shook her head at him.

"Stop laughing at me," Remus whined.

"I'm _not_ laughing at you," Eva said.

"You were on the inside." Remus slowly sat up. "Dang, that hurts…"

"Maybe you should stay closer to the ground, then," Eva suggested.

"I'll keep that in mind…" Remus trailed off, his eyes widening as he stared at the pond. "What's he doing?"

"What? What's who—?" Eva turned around. Rick looked like he had lost control of the racer. He was headed for the pillars sticking up out of the water.

Remus got to his feet. "I think he's going to crash!"

At the last second, Rick steered the Arrow away from the pillars. He barrel rolled and then brought the Star racer to the ground.

Eva and Remus shared glances. _Something's wrong…_

* * *

Lily sat on the steps at the front of the hanger. Duncan's wolf, Hunter, was semi-asleep. His eyes were half-closed, staring outside at something in the rain (or the rain itself) in a glazed way that suggested that whatever his eyes were looking at wasn't what he was seeing. Lily's thoughts were miles away, but in less happy place than Hunter's undoubtedly were.

_I have a cousin on Alwas? Remus…Remus…Remus… I've heard that name before… But my Uncle was estranged from our family because he chose to live among humans… That doesn't normally happen. Usually family's the most important thing to Lupanians…we'd do anything for a member of our pack. Who are you Remus? What are you like? _

_Dad tried to contact my Uncle a few years ago, but didn't get an answer. He even managed to contact my Uncle's wife's family. They weren't able to contact her either. It was like they had disappeared off the face of the Earth… _

_What happened to them…?_

Duncan sat down next to her. "Are you alright, Lily?"

"I'm fine," she said, looking at Hunter.

Duncan placed an arm around her shoulders. "Are you thinking about Remus?"

Lily didn't say anything for a while. Finally, she said, "I don't know him. I've never met him. I don't know what he's like or where he's been or anything…" She turned to look at Duncan. "When does where you live and who you live among become more important than family?"

Duncan opened his mouth to reply when he sniffed and looked up at the hanger entrance. Standing there, glaring at them was the Jubalin gunner.

Duncan got to his feet. "May I help you, sir?"

"Sir?" the Jubalin exclaimed. "I'm a girl, you moron!"

Duncan looked the Jubalin up and down. It had snow-white fur and was wearing a navy blue vest and very baggy black cargo pants: its toes poked out from under the folds in the fabric. On its wrists were two leather buckles.

"Er…sorry… I couldn't tell," Duncan said. Lily could tell that being called a moron had made him give up any pretense of being polite.

"Oh yeah? Why not? Never seen a Jubalin before?" the gunner demanded.

"Well…you all look the same to me, really… boys and girls…"

"Is that so? Well, you think you're all high and mighty, being moon-gods, huh? Moon-gods, is that what you think you are? Well, let me tell you something, buddy, you're no better than Jubalins and that stunt you pulled yesterday could've killed our pilot, you stupid son-of-a—"

"Excuse me! But if you noticed, I carefully measured that dose! There was no way that it would have killed your pilot, it barely put him to sleep!" Duncan retorted.

"Him? _Him?_ OUR PILOT'S A GIRL TOO, YOU STUPID IDIOT!"

Lily covered her face with her hand. This was not going to end well…not well at all.

* * *

Eva and Remus watched silently as the cockpit opened, and everyone began applauding Rick. Rick jumped down from the Star-racer. "Thanks guys. I'm just gonna go up to my room and get some rest before the race."

"Rick, wait up…" Eva started toward the stairs. Rick didn't acknowledge her. She stopped, looking uncertain.

"Oh boy, I'm so glad Rick's back," Jordan said excitedly to Stan and Koji. "It's really great to have a real pro behind the controls again."

Stan and Koji traded glances.

"What?" Jordan asked. Then he turned around.

Eva shrugged coolly and started up the stairs.

"Oh, come on, Molly, you know what I mean," Jordan called up after her. "You're good and all but this is Rick!"

Eva walked out of the hanger. Remus figured she'd gone to her room.

Jordan turned to him. "Will you talk to her?"

Remus gave Jordan a look. "Tsh. You're on your own."

* * *

Lily sighed. Duncan and the Jubalin gunner had been at it for over half an hour. It was starting to attract attention from the rest of the pack.

A tall, slender, 19-year-old man stopped beside her. He had short, messy black hair and dark blue eyes. He was wearing a black shirt with a white and red Scottish crest design with the word 'heritage' written on a banner beneath it and black pants made from a leather-like material. "Um…what's going on here?"

"Oh, hi, Bardawulf," Lily said, glancing at him. "Duncan's just fighting with the Jubalin gunner."

Bardawulf shifted, his black, shin-high boots thumping against the floor. He bent over quickly and adjusted one of the many buckles. When he straightened, he nudged Lily with his elbow.

"Why are they fighting?" he asked.

"Why should I know? Why does everyone assume that if Duncan's involved, I know what's going on?" Lily asked exasperatedly.

"Cause…you're kinda hs girlfriend?"

"I am not!"

Bardawulf grinned. "Sure you're not," he said. He winked. "Don't worry, I won't tell."

"Barda," she snarled. "I'm warning you—"

"So, why are they fighting?"

"The gunner came in here to pick a bone with Duncan over drugging their pilot, and then Duncan made it worse when he called the gunner 'sir' and she's really a she," Lily explained.

"So that's a girl?" Bardawulf asked, surprised. "Dang, that's hot."

Lily's eyebrows shot up and she wheeled around to look at him. "What?"

"Well, lookit her," he said. "She's only three feet tall and she's taking on Duncan like he's _not_ three times taller than her and _wouldn't_ be able to tear her to shreds. I like that."

"Barda, have you taken a good look at her?" Lily asked, desperate to knock some sense into him before he did something stupid. "She's a _Jubalin._ She's a _rabbit!_ We _eat_ rabbits!"

"Yeah, sure, whatever…"

Lily grabbed his shoulders, towering over him in her wolf form. "Barda! Are you listening to me?"

Barda wasn't even looking at her. "Hey…hey, excuse me, miss? What's your name?"

The gunner spun around to glare at him. "What? Is it another 'moon-god' come to tell me he's all high and mighty?"

"You're hot," Barda blurted out.

Lily smacked a hand over her face. _Great…he's gone and done something stupid…again…_

"What?" Duncan exclaimed.

"E…excuse me?" the gunner asked flustered.

Lily raised an eyebrow. She let go of Barda's shoulders and backed away. She transformed back to her human form. She had red hair and forest green eyes and was wearing a light green t-shirt and blue jeans.

_You know…I would bet anything she's blushing under that fur…_

That was the thing with Lupanians and Jubalins—you couldn't see things like blushing because of their fur. For Lupanians it was only when they were in their werewolf form. Jubalins, however, looked like rabbits twenty-four/seven.

Barda walked up to her and dropped to his knees in front of her. He took her paws in his hands. "You're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. The way you take on someone bigger than you without even a flinch…it's simply breath taking."

"Er…" The gunner didn't seem to know what to do.

But then, who would, Lily wondered. Someone of another species that you seemingly despised was flirting with you.

"I simply _must_ know your name," Barda said.

"It's…Agrona…"

"The Celtic name that means 'carnage' or 'slaughter?'" Barda said excitedly. "It fits you perfectly! Your viciousness in the face of Duncan attacking your ship—"

"Attacking?" Duncan exclaimed. "I was making sure they didn't crash!"

"—your loyalty to your pilot…only true loyalty would drive you to confront the alpha of a wolf pack in his den," Barda said, his eyes full of adoration.

"Whose side are you on?" Duncan shouted.

"Hers…" Barda said dreamily.

"Er…" Lily strode forward, transforming back to her Lupanian form. She grabbed Barda under the arms. "Sorry about that. And sorry about your pilot. Is she okay?"

"Y…yeah…" Agrona said. She was looking at Barda as though she didn't know whether to think him crazy or to be flattered. "Nothing can take Andraste down."

"Andraste, the Celtic name meaning 'invincible.' It's perfect," Barda said. He looked like he hadn't really heard what anyone had just said. He was still staring at Agrona absentmindedly.

"Er…yeah…anyway…" Agrona backed out of the hanger slowly. Then she turned and ran, her ears flopping out behind her in the wind.

It was a moment before anyone said anything. Barda sighed happily. "I think I'm in love."

Lily rolled her eyes and let go of Barda. He dropped to the floor.

* * *

Eva stopped when she heard something crash in Rick's room. She quickly entered. "Rick, are you okay?"

Rick spun around to face her. "Who said you could just barge in here, huh? I need to rest. Can't you understand that?" he shouted.

"I'm sorry, but I heard a noise and I just—"

"There was no noise," Rick snapped and stalked off to another part of his room.

"I guess I was mistaken," Eva said, taking a step backward. She stepped on something. Looking down, she saw a disk on the floor.

* * *

"Hey, Jordan, can I ask you something?" Eva asked. Jordan was on top of the Arrow, polishing it.

"Sure," Jordan said.

"Did you think there was anything wrong with Rick this afternoon? Did he seem off?"

"Well, at first I was worried," Jordan said. "But then I thought, 'hey this is Rick!' Face it, Molly, Rick gave us a great flying lesson today!"

"Whatever," Eva muttered. She wasn't going to get any help from Jordan.

Koji walked past.

"Hey, Koji," Eva said. "Did it seem normal for Rick…to be taking risks like he was?"

Stan, who was working on the engines, shared a glance with Koji. Koji sighed and pushed his glasses farther up his nose.

"Could you be jealous of Rick, Molly?" he asked awkwardly.

"No! It's not that, I just—"

A door opened and Don Wei entered the hanger. "Leave Koji alone, Molly. He needs to get ready for the race."

"All you care about is the race!" she snapped.

"That's right," Don said as he passed her, sounding as though that were obvious.

_Nobody listens so why should I care?_ Eva stalked over to her rocket seat and sat down. She pressed a button on her CD Player. Speakers ejected from it and started blasting music.

Everyone jumped.

Eva shot out of the hanger into the pouring rain, nearly hitting a soaking wet and baffled Remus.

Tears gathered in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away and glared ahead of her.

* * *

"What was that about?" Remus asked.

Jordan shrugged. "She's just jealous 'cause Rick's back."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? What gave you that idea?"

"She was trying to make it sound like something was wrong with Rick because he was pulling stunts earlier this afternoon," Jordan said.

"Are you sure that there really isn't anything wrong with Rick?" Remus asked. "Not all injuries are physical."

"This is Rick!" Jordan insisted. "Nothing can take him down!"

"That's probably what some said about Maya," Remus said. Don Wei jolted. Remus forced himself not to smirk (he had wanted to poke Don with an emotional pin ever since his reaction after the race with Groor).

"Maya? Whose she? What's she got to do with Rick?" Jordan asked.

"Maya was one of the greatest Star-racer pilots ever," Remus said. "And then, ten years ago, she was racing in an interplanetary race and crashed. She died. What's to say that something hasn't happened to Rick? Being good doesn't make you invincible."

Jordan shrugged. "Whatever."

"You should know that better than anyone, sir," Remus said, starting toward the stairs. He paused as he passed Don. He whispered, "She was your wife."

"How did you…" Don was looking at him in shock.

Remus gave him a small smile and walked away.

Don watched him disappear behind the door on the balcony.

"Hey," Jordan said suddenly. "Where has he been, anyway?"

Stan and Koji glanced at each other.

"That's a good question," Stan said. "Where _did_ he go?"

Koji shrugged. "I don't know. Do you know, sir?"

Don didn't answer.

* * *

Remus lay down in his room, arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling. _That was a nasty thing to do, _he thought. Although he knew that was true, it didn't stop him from feeling vaguely satisfied at the reaction from Don Wei.

_Hey, if he's going to be a jerk to his own daughter then he deserves it._

_But he doesn't know that Molly is Eva,_ said a voice in his head.

Remus shifted. _Doesn't matter. The fact that he abandoned her at Boarding School for ten years is reason enough._

He rolled over and turned his thoughts to other things before his conscious could retort.

He was still soaking wet and water dripped down from out of his hair, across his face and onto his pillow. After Eva had gone to check on Rick, Remus had taken the opportunity to slip away and search for the Lupanian hanger. Although he didn't like Duncan, he wasn't going to let that stop him from finding out if he had family in the Lupanian Team. He also wasn't going to let that deter him from seeing if he had a possibility of being with a pack.

_Just because Duncan's a jerk doesn't mean they all are,_ he told himself over and over again.

He had found the hanger and had stared at it for several minutes, just leaning against a tree before a girl with red hair and dark green eyes had spotted him. He had panicked and ran. He had watched them laughing together and talking. He knew then that he had no place among them. They weren't just a team. They had truly formed a pack—they were like family. And he would only be intruding on that.

Remus rolled over onto his other side, facing the wall. Tears began to mingle with the rain.

* * *

Rick and Jordan were at the track while Don Wei, Stan and Koji watched from the control room, getting ready for the race. Someone entered the room.

"Hello?"

Everyone wheeled around to face the entrance, surprised. Standing there was a girl of sixteen or seventeen. She had red hair and forest green eyes.

"Who are you?" Don demanded.

"My name is Lillian Lycaon, but you can call me Lily," the girl said.

"Lycaon?" Koji asked surprised. "Are you related to Remus?"

"Possibly," Lily said. "He's…he might be my cousin. Do you know where I can find him?"

"I think he's in his room," Koji said hesitantly. "But I think he's sleeping."

"Th…thank you for your help," she said. Then she ducked out of the room before anyone could say anything else.

"Stan, go follow her. Make sure she doesn't try anything," Don said.

"What could she possibly do, sir?" Stan asked. "Our Star-racer, pilot and gunner are gone. What else could she possibly attack? Other than Remus, but, I have to admit, I think she'd have her hands full doing that."

"Hhmm…I still don't like her wandering around here like she lives here," Don said. "I'll be back in a moment." He made his way towards Remus room. He saw her standing in front of his room uncertainly—and stopped. He hid behind the corner.

Normally, he wasn't one to spy but he knew that Remus was keeping something from him as was Molly. This could be his chance to find out what it was. Maybe Remus would tell her. Maybe she already knew. Perhaps Remus had visited the Lupanian hanger while he was out.

Lily knocked on the door.

A moment later, after hearing Remus trip over something and yell 'crud!' as he fell to the floor, the door opened. When he saw Lily, he looked like he'd nearly been hit by a truck.

"…Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Lillian Lycaon," Lily said. "But, please, call me Lily."

Remus took a step back, cautiously. "What do you want?"

"I…I think we might be cousins," Lily said hesitantly, but there was a bit of a pleading note in her voice. "Please, I need to talk to you. Why are you with the Earth Team and not the Lupanian one? Surely, you must know that we're here. Why didn't you come to us—"

"Why didn't you come to me?" Remus asked. He looked like he wanted to say something, but was afraid of the answer he might get. He shook his head and said something else. "I knew you were here. Your Rider, Duncan, was by yesterday. I didn't like him much."

"Well, Duncan _can_ come across as combative," Lily agreed. "But he's really nice. He's just protective of us. As Alpha, he feels it's his duty to protect us—that if something happens to him, it'll be all his fault."

"That wasn't what our argument was about," Remus said. "He made a jab at my choice of friends."

"You mean at humans?" Lily's shoulders sagged as she sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid he does that sometimes. It's just…he almost lost someone, and he's always blamed humans for it."

"I can relate," Remus said.

"What happened?" Lily asked.

"I lost my parents to Hunters," Remus said. Don could almost hear the capital letter on 'hunters'.

Lily gasped. "Oh my god…" She looked very pale. "So…so Uncle Rollo is…"

"Dead," Remus said, a harsh note to his voice now. "But I'll bet you didn't know that."

"I… My parents tried to contact your father several times but… It was like they had fallen off the face of the Earth… We didn't know…"

"Yes, well, it's because you abandoned my parents that I lived alone for five years," Remus said coolly. "Did you even know that my birthday is next week?"

Lily shook her head. "No…I didn't… I wish you an early happy birthday, though."

"Save it. I don't want it."

"Remus…"

Koji came running around the corner and nearly ran into Remus. "Sir! SIR! Something's wrong with Rick!" He looked around frantically. "Have either of you seen Don Wei?"

Don composed himself and walked around the corner. "Yes, Koji? What is it?"

"Sir, something's wrong with Rick!" Koji said frantically.

"Wait, what were you doing over there?" Remus demanded. "Were you spying on us?"

"What's wrong with Rick?" Don asked worriedly.

"He's 'KO'ed, sir! There's something wrong with his nervous system! It's completely shot!"

"Rick," Don whispered as he ran to the control room.

* * *

Eva was sitting on a bridge over the racetrack, waiting for the Arrow 2. She saw Ceres pass under the bridge. The Arrow came around the corner, scrapping against the wall the whole way.

"It's worse than I thought," she whispered. She flipped a switch on her rocket seat handle and shot off and turned the corner to ride parallel with the track. The Arrow caught up with her and they raced side by side.

"Here goes nothing," she cried. She jerked on the handles. The rocket seat flew off the edge and into the air. Eva jumped off. She hung suspended in mid-air for a moment, then crashed against the gunner pit. She fell off and grabbed onto the guns. She pulled herself forward so she could hook her arms around them.

"Molly!" she heard Jordan shout through the glass.

Eva looked at the cockpit. "I'm coming Rick."

* * *

Remus entered the control room just in time to see Eva jump off the rocket seat onto the Arrow.

"What does she think she's doing?" Don Wei shouted.

"She's going to try and help Rick!" Remus felt himself shaking with nerves as he watched Eva clumsily make her way into the Arrow through the gunner entrance. Several seconds later, the Arrow came off the wall and turned the corner.

Remus sighed. "She's in."

* * *

"Little mouse…" Rick murmured. "What're you doing here…?"

"I'm here to help you," Eva said. "Can you control the pedals?"

"I think so…"

Eva sat down on Rick's lap and took hold of the arm controls. Ceres pulled back to fly beside them.

"You humans are pathetic. You aren't worth my time," he said.

"Then get lost!" Eva snapped.

Ceres raised a flute to his mouth. "The Mong are the last of the ancient people, the oldest race in the galaxy, and _I _am the last of the Mong. Before you are defeated, I will give you the greatest gift of all—a look at the world of the Mong." He began to play the flute.

Eva's eyes fluttered once…twice…her head bobbed down and shot up. Then her eyes closed…

* * *

She was in a strange city place that seemed to rise up out of the ground for miles. She was walking along a bridge dreamily. The bridge was only big enough for one person to cross at a time and looked to be miles above the ground…but there was no ground, only mist. Were those clouds…?

She didn't notice that the bridge came to a dead end across the middle of the canyon.

* * *

Rick's eyes opened again. "Little mouse? …Molly?" he asked when she didn't answer him. "Little mouse, wake up."

* * *

Eva vaguely heard Rick's voice echoing around in the nothingness. But she kept on walking…closer to the edge…

* * *

Rick forced his hand to move slowly towards the CD Player attached to Eva's pants. He pressed a button. The speakers ejected and started blasting music.

* * *

The world began to shatter around her like glass, leaving her in the dark. Her eyes shot open. "AH!" She turned the Arrow in time to miss a rock that jutted up out of the ground.

Ceres cried out in pain and clutched his head. He crashed into the wall and exploded.

Eva crossed the finish line and landed the Arrow. She quickly got off of Rick and shut off her CD Player.

"Well done, Little Mouse," Rick said weakly. "I always wanted a copilot."

"Any time, Rick," Eva said with a smile and a wink. Then Rick went limp. "Rick?" Rick had passed out again.

* * *

The Earth Team stood outside the hospital room, looking through the glass wall worriedly as a machine examined Rick.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Eva whispered to Remus worriedly.

"Honestly?" Remus whispered back. "No. He'll live. But I don't think he's going to be perfectly okay."

"What happened to your cousin?" she murmured. Remus had told her about Lily on the way to the hospital. It had been then that Eva had remembered that she'd forgotten to tell Remus about the Lupanian she'd met in the parts shop. He hadn't been happy that Eva hadn't forgotten to tell him that, but he had shared with her that he suspected that was his cousin in werewolf form.

"Disappeared after the race. I turned around to tell her to leave, but she was already gone."

"I thought you wanted a family?" Eva muttered.

"I did…but then I found them, and all I could think about was how hurt I was," Remus whispered sadly. "And now, I don't think I'll ever have another chance."

"You will," Eva said. "Trust me. But you don't need her."

"Why not?"

"Because we'll be your family," Eva said. "Me and Jordan and Stan and Koji and Rick."

"You forgot Don Wei," Remus added.

"Who wants _him_ as a part of their family?"

And although the comment was made in jest, Remus could tell there was some bite behind it. He chose to say nothing and smiled slightly.

Then he added, "But it doesn't matter anyway. You should've seen them eariler, E. They were laughing and talking and playing...like a family. I'd just be intruding on that."

"Don't say that Remus," Eva said. "If they've invited you twice to join, then you have to belong."

Remus was silent.

A few minutes later and Rick was out. He and Don Wei were sitting in front of the Alwas doctor.

"Well, it appears that there was some damage to his brain that we missed before," the doctor said. "Your central nervous system is damaged. When you encounter moments of violent stress, you lose control of your nervous. You can never race again."

"What?" Don exclaimed. "Surely there is something you can do!"

"There are some illness even _we_ can't cure," the doctor said.

Rick lunged at the doctor, grabbing him around the throat. Don grabbed Rick's arm and tried to pull him off. "NO! You have to cure me! Racing is my life!"

"Rick! Let him go!" Don ordered.

Rick paused—then let go of the doctor and stormed away.

"Rick!" Eva called and started after him.

Don Wei blocked her path. "Let him be. He needs some time alone. We'll talk in the morning, Molly. …You were…very brave today."

* * *

Rick stood in the stadium, looking around. He remembered when he had become the minor league champion. He had stood in front of the cheering crowd, holding his trophy high. It had been the best day of his life.

And now…

Now he would never experience that again.

He dropped to his knees. The one thing he loved…the thing he had made a career out of…the thing he never thought he'd never be able to do…it was gone… just like that…

A single tear rolled down his cheek.

_**Chapter preview: Star Gazing **– Eva found Remus sitting on the roof of the hanger, staring at the sky. _

"_Remus, what are you doing up here?" she whispered. _

"_I'm watching the stars," Remus said quietly. "If you watch and listen they'll tell you stories of long ago…but only if you know how."_

"_How to what?" _

"_How to listen." Remus patted the space beside him. Eva sat down. "Did you know that when a person dies, a new star is added to the sky? That's their soul shining down on us, watching us." He quickly scanned the sky. "There!" He pointed at the stars. _

"_What?"_

"_Do you see that star? Do you see how it glows like the moon? Didn't you tell me your mother had a crescent moon tattoo on her check? Doesn't the light from that star look like a crescent moon?" _

"_I'm sorry, Remus, I don't see it," Eva said with a shrug._

_Remus grinned and nudged her. "That's because you don't know how to listen, silly. But I'll bet that's your mother's star, and its watching you right now. And I'll bet it's proud."_


	8. Star Gazing

Disclaimer: I don't own Oban Star-racers. Still own Remus, the Lupanians and Jubalins. **_On a side note, there are two characters that appear called Lupe and Lupita. Neither one are a self-insert of any kind. Lupe and Lupita are actually names. _**

On another note… YES! PEOPLES HAVE FAVED THIS STORY! YAAAAHHOOOOO!!!

**Crazyvegimab: **Your reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Especially your first one because it made me feel good know that I could integrate a fan character in so well that you stopped noticing. I'm doing something right! YES!

**IchikoKitsuneKoumori:** Yeah, poor Remus and Rick. I'm evil…to Remus at least.

**Star Fata: **You'll just have to keep reading to find out how Remus' family situation ends up.

**Virtual Dragon of Oban: **YOU FAVED!! COOOOOOL!!! But just to let you know, I've never read the fic you're referring to. I searched it so I could see if it was something I'd read, but I've never read a Code Lyoko fic. It's an okay show, but it wasn't one of my favorites. It was at one point, but it didn't last long. As for where I got the name "Agrona", there's this site that I use and that's where I get some of my more unusual names such as Bardawulf (even the word "Jubalin" is a variation of a word I found there) and when I get names from that site, the names usually have some meaning to the character and their personality or what they are. Duncan and Lily are a few of the exceptions (you already know why Remus has his name). They got their names at random, or at least Lily did. Duncan got his name because we're reading Macbeth in English class and the name stuck on the Alpha for some reason. I tried to change it but it didn't work: I had already named one of the mechanics in the beginning of the story that, but in real life you'll know people who have the same name so why not in stories?

If anyone's curious the name site is . Agrona is one of the first names under Celtic girl names.

Moon and Star

Ch.8: Star Gazing

Eva walked around the hanger aimlessly. Now that Rick was gone, she would either have to be the pilot again or the Earth Team would pull out of the race; she doubted that Don Wei would let her pilot again. He'd been so eager to get rid of her.

She found herself in front of Remus' room. She knocked on the door. "Remus?"

No one answered.

"Remus? Are you in there?"

Still no answer.

Eva opened the door. The room was empty. _Where did he go…?_

* * *

Lily sat on the ground next to Hunter, leaning against his side. She moved forward and back with each breath he took. Her eyes were closed. She looked like she was sleeping.

_Remus…_

His reaction had hurt her. She had always thought that family was the most important thing to Lupanians; now she wasn't sure.

Someone sat down beside her.

"Lily?" the person whispered. "Are you asleep?"

"No, Duncan," Lily murmured. "What do you need?"

"I just wanted to talk to you. You haven't said a word since you came back from the Earth Hanger. I'm going to guess that your talk with Remus didn't go too well?"

"He was angry at me, Duncan," Lily said. "He was angry at my parents…"

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

Lily sighed and told him everything that had happened that afternoon.

"Ah…I see," Duncan said. "Well, I can understand how he'd be angry. He'd lost his parents, had no where to go, was only a child and felt abandoned when none of his family came for him." Duncan draped an arm around Lily's shoulders. "Give him time. He'll come around."

Lily shook her head. "I don't know…"

"Why don't we go up to the roof and look at the stars? You like looking at the stars, don't you?" Duncan asked.

"Fine. But only if you come out of your Lupanian form," Lily said with a smile.

"Why? So I can trip over my cape when it's suddenly too long?" Duncan asked.

"No. Because you're never in your human form," Lily said. "It'd make a nice change."

Duncan shook his head, but transformed back. He had dusty brown hair and brilliant gold eyes. He was wearing a white t-shirt with 'billabong' written across it in red letters and faded blue jeans. He took off the cape, which now seemed to swallow him.

A light flashed. Someone whooped.

Lily and Duncan snapped their heads up to look at the balcony. There stood Bardawulf and two thirteen year old girls who had black hair with streaks of red, brown eyes, wearing gray sweaters, blue jeans and spike bracelets on each wrist. The only difference between them was that one wore a black shirt and the other wore a navy blue one.

In Bardawulf's hand was a camera.

"BARDA! LUPE! LUPITA!"

* * *

Eva found Remus sitting on the roof of the hanger, staring at the sky.

"Remus, what are you doing up here?" she whispered.

"I'm watching the stars," Remus said quietly. "If you watch and listen they'll tell you stories of long ago…but only if you know how."

"How to what?"

"How to listen." Remus patted the space beside him. Eva sat down. "Did you know that when a person dies, a new star is added to the sky? That's their soul shining down on us, watching us." He quickly scanned the sky. "There!" He pointed at the sky.

"What?"

"Do you see that star? Do you see how it glows like the moon? Didn't you tell me your mother had a crescent moon tattoo on her cheek? Doesn't the light from that star look like a crescent moon?"

"I'm sorry, Remus, I don't see it," Eva said with a shrug.

Remus grinned and nudged her. "That's because you don't know how to listen, silly. But I'll bet that's your mother's star, and its watching you right now. And I'll bet it's proud."

Eva shook her head. "Remus…"

"What? It's not as far-fetched as it sounds." Remus looked back to the stars. "Do you see those two there? The ones that are almost touching?" Eva nodded hesitantly. Remus glanced at her. "Those are my parents."

Eva was silent, watching Remus.

"That's why I try to be a nice guy," Remus said. "Because I know they're watching."

Eva laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"You. A nice guy. That's a laugh."

* * *

After finally catching Bardawulf, Lily and Duncan still hadn't gotten the camera: he'd passed it on to Lupe. They had chased her to find out that she had passed to Lupita and then caught Lupita only to find out that she'd passed it back to Lupe, who had then passed it back to Bardawulf, who had passed it back to Lupita, who had passed it back to Lupe who had passed it to Bardawulf, who had passed it to Lupita who had passed it back to him and then passed it to Lupe…

And after all that, when they had managed to finally catch all three of them in an intersecting hallway, they found out that none of the three had the camera. It had all been a trick to keep them from finding the camera while it was hidden.

Now Lily and Duncan were sitting on the roof of the Lupanian hanger, staring up at the stars.

"You know," Lily said, "I have to wonder sometimes what people think of us here on Alwas. Sometimes I really hope they realize that we're not _all_ crazy."

"I'm sure they do," Duncan said. "No race is ever completely nuts."

"I guess not. We just got lucky though and got all the lunatics in one fell swoop, right?"

"Of course," Duncan said with a grin. "Well. Not all lunatics. Mostly just Bardawulf and Lupe and Lupita. Although, I'll admit that Conner has his moments and so does Hemming."

"But Hemming's really quite most of the time," Lily said.

"That's because he's wondering which one of Bardawulf's experiments will get him blow up," Duncan said.

Lily shook her head. "Why do we let Barda mess around with things like he does?"

"Because he's messing around with things to help the team," Duncan said. "Hemming told me that Barda's coming up with a sort of…gun…that will attach to my wrist. He said that Barda's already come up with different dosages of that sleeping potion he came up with and putting them in thin glass bottles. The gun will look and function like the dart, only I won't have to take my concentration off the race to prepare it. We prepare it before the race and then its ready to be used at the press of a button."

"I see," Lily said. She hesitated. "Speaking of members of the pack, I have to tell you…I don't like Gerwulf."

Duncan looked surprised. "The replacement pilot? Why not?"

"I don't know…he's just too cocky… He makes me think he feels superior to me and I get the feeling that he's trying to make me look like an idiot," Lily said. "Plus…he wears so much leather…it smells funny," Lily made a face.

Duncan laughed. "I know! I've told him that!"

"Oh?" Lily smiled. "What did he say?"

Duncan shrugged. "He just sort of gave me this look…but it actually gave me chills."

Lily was quite for a moment. Then she said, "You know…I've gotten the impression that he's just _waiting_ for you mess up and get hurt so he can take your place and be the big shot."

"You know…I've gotten that feeling too."

* * *

"Do you want to hear a story, E?" Remus asked.

"Sure, Remus, why not?"

Remus reclined, arms behind his head, staring at the moon. "The story of Lupanians is an old one. Humans were growing greedy and stealing away the land from the animals and destroying their homes. The spirit of the sun, an eagle, would watch over the animals during the day, protecting them from the Hunters, yet could not protect their homes. This made the spirit sad and so when he handed over the duty of watching the animals and protecting them to the spirit of the moon, a silver wolf, the wolf felt the sun spirit's emotions and became sad. He howled to the moon mournfully each night and soon other wolves joined.

"One night the moon spirit was attacked by man. But a pack of nearby wolves saved him and the moon spirit punished man by taking away their ability to communicate with animals. The moon spirit rewarded the wolf pack by giving them a humanoid form and the ability to speak while still being able to understand animals.

"He deemed the new beings Lupanians and said, 'You are a noble race. Remember your bravery and loyalty for they will be your greatest allies. Remember your great family ties for they will pull you through anything.' The Lupanians understood and ever since our families have been most important to use as well as friends and we'd do anything for them…

"And that's how us Lupanians came to be. Sorry, I know it sounds stupid, but my mother was able to tell it better," Remus said.

"No, it was fine. Better than I would've been able to tell it," Eva said.

"Did your mother tell you stories, E?" Remus asked.

"No. It was my dad who did that. He was really good at it."

Remus smirked slightly, raising his eyebrows. "Funny… Can't really picture Don Wei as being the story telling type to tell you the truth."

"Well…he was…"

They were silent for a moment. Finally Remus sat up. "Well…I think we should get to bed. We've got a race tomorrow."

Eva looked surprised. "What are you talking about? We've got no pilot!"

"We've got you, don't we?"

Eva shook her head. "No way. Don Wei was eager to get rid of me…there's no way he'd make me pilot again."

"Trust me. He seems really intent on winning this thing," Remus said. "He'll put you back in. He's got no choice."

"There's still you."

Remus looked like he was going to be sick. "Right…me…"

Eva smiled at him. "Why do you look like that? You could be good if you tried."

"Maybe…but, uh…I have a thing against flying and I have a thing against flying in a thing that's going at least a hundred miles an hour and can crash horribly," Remus said, scratching his head.

Eva shrugged. "Still… He might force you to learn."

Remus started laughing suddenly and then stopped just as suddenly as he'd started. He gave her look and said flatly, "Don't even joke."

Eva smiled and shrugged. "But you're right, it is getting late. We should go to bed."

Remus stood up, yawning and stretching his arms to sky. "Yeah…see you in the morning, E."

"See ya."

* * *

Remus flopped face down on his bed without even bothering to get undressed. He fell asleep instantly.

He wasn't sure how much later it was when he awoke with a start. There was someone in his room—he could sense it. He sniffed, but didn't smell anything. Remus rolled off his bed and to his feet quickly, facing the door—

His jaw dropped open. "Who are you?" he blurted out.

Standing in the middle of his room was a pink haired woman with red eyes. On one cheek was a crescent moon and one the other was a line…the tattoos reminded him of Eva's…

What a minute… Eva's mother, Maya, had a crescent moon tattoo…

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," he said.

The woman looked confused. "I haven't even said anything yet."

"You just did, and you wouldn't happen to be Maya Wei would you?"

"How did you know?"

Remus brain came to a halt. He stood there staring at her dumbly. "Er…" _She's dead, she can't be here, I must be dreaming…_ But then again, how many people consciously knew when they were dreaming?

Maya smiled at him faintly. "I guess this is a bit confusing."

"Just a little… You're DEAD for crying out loud!"

"I know."

"So, you're a spirit?"

"Pretty much."

"This has just gone _way_ too far off the creepy end of the freak scale," Remus said. Then he remembered something his mother had told him as a little kid; she had said that there were some people who were more in tune with the spirits than others. Those who were Lupanian were said to be descends of the wolf pack that had saved the moon spirit all those thousands of years ago—it could never be proven though.

People who weren't Lupanians and could talk to spirits were said to be in tune with the sun spirit.

_Well, this just made things a whole lot more interesting._

"So…yeah…name's Remus…already know yours…" Remus glanced around awkwardly. "So…any particular reason you're here?"

"I've been here the whole time," Maya said.

"Oh?" he said. "Why…? Sorry, that was a stupid question. You've been watching over Don and Eva, haven't you?"

"Someone needs to watch out for them," she said. "Don's too stubborn for his own good and Eva…well, sometimes I think she's too reckless. She gets that from me."

"I figured that," Remus said. "But then why am I only seeing you now?"

"Well, you must not be entirely in tune with the moon spirit…he's the lord of the stars, too," Maya said. "And you can hear the stars."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"If you can hear the stars, you can hear the moon," Maya said. "And since you were just listening to the stars, you'd be more in tune than normal."

"Wait…what? I can _hear_ the stars? I thought that was just something—"

"You made up? So you've never gotten strange feelings about the spirit of the star you've been watching?"

"Well, yeah, I have…that's what I call 'listening to the stars' but I didn't realize…"

"That you actually were," Maya said. "I see…"

"I…if you're here… Have you seen anyone else? A…a man and a woman… the man has reddish brown hair and green eyes…and the woman has dark brown hair and blue eyes?" Remus asked.

"I'm sorry. I haven't, but that doesn't mean they aren't around," Maya said. "Who are they?"

"My parents," Remus said quietly, eyes to the floor. "They've been dead for…for five years."

"Do you have a picture of them I could see?" Maya said. "It might help me remember if I've seen them."

Remus shook his head. "No, I don't…"

"Well…I guess as long as you remember them you don't need one," she said.

Remus looked away. He didn't want to tell her that he remembered his father's hair and eye color because it had always fascinated him and he thought it was the coolest color combination ever. He didn't want to tell her that he remembered his mother's hair because it was a dark, dark brown—ridiculously easy to mistake for black—like his. And he especially didn't want to tell her that he clearly remembered his mother's pale blue eyes the night she died, wide with fright and desperate to protect him…full of pain that Remus hadn't identified at the time; he now knew the reason behind her pain…and it felt like someone had stabbed him with a knife and twisted it every time he thought about it…

"I have to go now Remus," Maya said. "But it's been nice talking to you… I hope that we meet in your dreams again."

Remus' eyes dropped heavily, and he staggered. Maya walked over to him and gently pushed him back onto his bed.

"Goodbye, Remus."

His eyes closed, and he slipped away into sleep once again.

* * *

He awoke with a start. Glancing over at the digital clock on the stand by his bed (it was the only electronic thing he owned), he saw that it was only twelve thirty in the morning: he'd been sleeping for only a half an hour. He sighed and rolled over to face the wall. _Oh man…that was a really weird dream…_

* * *

Eva sat staring at the stars for over a half hour after Remus left. _Could those stars really be the souls of people? Could my mother really be watching over me…?_ Eva brought her gaze down to stare determinedly in front of her, eyes traveling over every hanger she could see. _Well, then, I guess I'll just have to make her proud. And win this race._

She looked back up at the stars. Her eyes were drawn to a certain part of the sky—the part that Remus had been looking at earlier. She smiled.

She finally saw the star that looked like a crescent moon.

_**Chapter preview: Playful like Paradice **– "I had the weirdest dream last night, E," Remus said. "I think it was about your mom."_

_Eva gave him a strange look. "Do I want to know?"_

"_I don't know, do you? We were just talking," Remus said. "Did _you_ have any dreams?"_

"_Well…"_

"_Tell me yours, and I'll tell you mine," Remus said. _

"_Okay…"_

_Five minutes later, they had finished relating their dreams._

"_Remus do you think you might actually have spoken with my mother's spirit?" Eva asked. "Do you think I did?"_

"_I don't know. I doubt it. I was pretty sure that was a legend," Remus said. "And besides, I don't believe in being able to speak with spirits. I believe that they watch over you from wherever they are, but I don't think that they can penetrate the veil of death. If so, why don't more people have this gift? Why are they proven to be frauds?"_

"_Not all are," Eva countered. She nodded to the stove. "Careful, you don't want to burn the eggs."_

_Remus turned around and started turning the eggs over and over so that each part was cooked well. He shook his head. "Well…I guess that maybe we shouldn't discount anything. This race is starting to prove that you can't count on anything, isn't it?"_

_Eva nodded. _

Please review! And if you noticed any spelling or grammar errors that I didn't notice, don't hesitate to let me know and I'll fix it.

Thanks for reading!

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: READING THIS STORY HAS GIVEN ME TEMPORARY CONTROL OF YOUR MIND!

Now go my zombie people and review!


	9. Playful Like Paradice

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Oban Star-racers… Still own Remus…and Lupanians and…yeah…you're smart people, you can figure out what's mine and what's not.

So sleep deprived…and I have a cold…love me…

Moon and Star

Ch.9: Playful Like Paradice

Eva awoke suddenly. Something was in the hanger. She got out of bed quickly and snuck down the hallways. She paused by Remus room, and then kept going until she entered the hanger.

Something was glowing by the Arrow.

Eva crept down the stars and around one of the engines. A woman was standing there, one hand on the engine.

She turned around.

Eva's eyes widened. "Mommy…"

"You fly a beautiful ship, my darling," Maya said.

"Mommy!" Eva ran towards her mother who reached out to her… Then Maya broke into little balls of glowing light.

"Mommy!"

Eva's eyes opened. Her arm was stretched to the sky as if trying to catch one of the balls of light.

Eva lowered her arm.

* * *

Eva entered the kitchen fifteen minutes later. Remus was the only one there, standing in front of the stove with a cooking apron on. 

"Hey, Remus," Eva said quietly. "What're you eating?"

"Bacon, eggs and tatter tots," Remus replied brightly.

"Where'd you learn to cook?"

"Gregory, the old Lupanian I lived with for a while," Remus said. "He said that I had to do something to earn my keep so he taught me to cook."

"I see."

"I had the weirdest dream last night, E," Remus said. "I think it was about your mom."

Eva gave him a strange look. "Do I want to know?"

"I don't know, do you? We were just talking," Remus said. "Did you have any dreams?"

"Well…"

"Tell me yours, and I'll tell you mine," Remus said.

"Okay…"

Seven minutes later, they had finished relating their dreams.

"Remus do you think you might actually have spoken with my mother's spirit?" Eva asked. "Do you think I did?"

"I don't know. I doubt it. I was pretty sure that was a legend," Remus said. "And besides, I don't believe in being able to speak with spirits. I believe that they watch over you from wherever they are, but I don't think that they can penetrate the veil of death. If so, why don't more people have this gift? Why are they proven to be frauds?"

"Not all are," Eva countered. She nodded to the stove. "Careful, you don't want to burn the eggs."

Remus turned around and started turning the eggs over and over so that each part was cooked well. He shook his head. "Well…I guess that maybe we shouldn't discount anything. This race is starting to prove that you can't count on anything, isn't it?"

Eva nodded.

Remus grabbed six plates and dished the food out onto them in equal portions. He paused. Then he snatched a few tatter tots of one of the plates. He looked at Eva and pointed to the plate. "That's Don's plate. Don't let me forget that."

Eva sniggered. "Sure thing, Remus."

Remus left the room. A minute later, she heard him shout, "GOOD FOOD! COME AND GET IT!"

There was silence. Then Eva heard the mad dash to the kitchen.

Remus slipped into the room and hastily grabbed the plate with extra tatter tots and sat down next to Eva. Their table was one low to the ground so that they had to sit on the floor. He placed his plate on the table and started eating.

As the others ran into the room and started fighting over plates while Don Wei shouted at them that they were behaving like children, Remus turned to Eva and asked, "Do we have any salt?"

Eva shook her head. "I don't think so."

Don Wei turned to them. "Remus, tell these fools that the plates are all the same, will you, my boy?"

Remus looked at Don and raised an eyebrow. "What's in it for me?"

Don glared at him.

Remus and Eva shared a look. "Well, that's good enough for me. The patented Don Wei glare—I'm shaking, E, can you feel that?" He held out his arm, and Eva placed a hand on it. She gave him a grave look.

"Wow, Remus, you're really trembling," she said seriously.

Remus stood up. He patted her on the head and ruffled her hair. "You're learning, grasshopper, you're learning."

Eva gave him a mock bow. "Thank you, Master. Your praise means everything to me."

"It should. It should," Remus said, nodding his head. Then he pointed to the plates. "Er…E, a little help?"

"The far left one," Eva said, swallowing a bite of eggs.

"Right. Thanks. Okay." Remus pointed to the far right one, "that's yours Koji," he pointed to the next one, "Stan," pointed to the next one, "Jordan," and then he pointed to the final one, the far left one, "Don's."

He sat back down.

Don took his plate, looking suspiciously between it and Remus.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on," he said. "I didn't poison it."

Eva heard him mutter, "I was really tempted though…"

Stan, who was sitting next to Remus on his other side, started choking on his food. He managed to swallow and grinned at Remus who smiled back.

Eva looked around. "Hey, wait…where's Rick?"

"He's not here," Don said.

"Not here? Where is he?" Eva insisted.

"He didn't say."

"But—"

"The best thing you can do for him now, Molly," Don interjected, "is to be worthy of the place he's given you."

"I…I'm taking his place?" Eva stuttered.

"Told you," Remus whispered.

"You should know that I never trusted you to pilot the Arrow 2. You have shown skill but have repeatedly refused to do as you're told," Don said.

"But I can explain—"

"This is no way to win a competition, young lady. You will stay in line or I promise you this will be the end of racing—for you…and for us," he said.

Remus stared at Don for a moment. Then, without taking his eyes off Don, he grabbed a handful of tatter tots off Don's plate and placed them on Eva's.

"Hn? Give those back," Don demanded.

Remus shook his head.

Don scowled and moved to take them back, but Remus slapped Don's hand. He grabbed one and popped it in his mouth.

"Hurry, E, eat them. Quick."

Eva took the four tatter tots and ate them.

"So there," Remus said.

Don scowled again.

"Hey, I've been wondering," Jordan said. "Why you always call her 'E'? Her name's Molly, you know."

Eva tensed beside Remus.

Remus shook his head. "One day when E decides you're worthy enough she'll tell you why."

"Thank you, Remus," Eva said.

"Worthy?" Jordan raised an eyebrow and frowned.

"Worthy." Remus nodded.

Eva finished her food (and even stole a piece of bacon when Don wasn't looking) and left. Jordan soon followed.

Remus licked up the crumbs from his plate (and stole the last two pieces of Don's bacon while he was talking to Stan and Koji and shoved them in his mouth before Don turned back to his plate) and lay down on the floor. His eyelids drooped.

"Remus, I will _not_ have you sleeping on the kitchen floor," Don said. "If you're so tired, go to your room."

_I can't…I don't want to be alone…bad dreams only come of it…_ "Le' me 'one…" he mumbled and dropped off to sleep.

"Sir, just let him sleep," Stan said. "He had a rough night."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I could hear him tossing and turning all night," Stan said. "I swear every time he moved, he hit the wall. His bed's right up against it, you know. And I could've sworn I hear him whine at one point. But anyway… I doubt he even remembers it…whatever he was dreaming."

"Still…" Don shrugged. "Very well. I suppose we'll let him sleep. We need every member of the team in top condition for the race today. We can't have anyone slacking off."

He looked down at his plate. He stared at it for a moment before shrugging and standing. "Must've eaten them already," he muttered as he placed it in the sink and left.

"That man…everything always comes back to being about the team, doesn't it? What's best for the team," Stan said. "I swear that if that man thought it was best for the team if Remus and Molly were handed over to the Crog's he'd do it. He's heartless. Molly won that race against Groor because she has skill. Not because of dumb luck. I will admit that had something to do with it, but it takes skill to pull off a victory like that. And then she flew great against Flint. Does _he_ care? No. All he cares about is that it wasn't Rick who won. If Rick raced the same way as Molly did, he wouldn't've cared."

"I think maybe you're being a bit harsh," Koji said.

"No. If anything, I'm not being harsh enough." Stan clenched his fist.

"What's got you so angry all the sudden?"

"Well…it's just that Don can be really cold."

"Well, I know that," Koji said, "but you don't even know Molly that well. Why are you getting angry?"

"Because she didn't ask for Don to treat her like that."

"She's not supposed to be here," Koji pointed out.

"Well, Remus isn't either," Stan said, "but he treats Remus just like he's a part of the team! I don't care if Remus took on a Crog or is a good mechanic—Molly is too, and Remus didn't even beat the Crog, and even _he_ admits that. But somehow that proves his worth. Molly's our pilot now, and our only chance at winning. I think he should just accept that and trust her."

"You're right. You're right," Koji said. "I agree with you. But getting angry isn't going to help anything. He'll come around eventually. I know he will."

"Tsh. When's the next ice age?"

* * *

"So he just left?" Eva asked. "Did he say where he was going?" 

"No. He just wants to be left alone for a bit, I guess," Jordan said. "This is Rick we're talking about. He'll bounce back."

_Like he did from the first race?_ "Hhmm…"

"Mr. Jordan," said a robotic voice, causing Jordan and Eva to turn around, "you've won a free pass to the new video arcade, Paradice City! Congratulations!" Confetti was spit out into the air from the robot's head. "Here's your free pass." A platform rose up out of the robot's head with a white ball on it.

Jordan knelt down and took it. "Is this some kind of joke? I never win anything."

"Follow me and I will take you to the arcade," the robot said and started walking away from them.

"Jordan, I don't know about this…"

"Oh come on, Molly," Jordan said, "what could possibly be wrong with an arcade?"

_Famous last words…_ Eva thought as she began to follow him.

* * *

Remus awoke a short time later and stiffly sat up. "Memo to self: Don't ever sleep on a hard floor again…" 

He took a shower, got dressed in his second pair of clothes, and soaked his previous outfit in the sink. Then he climbed out his window onto the ledge and spread them out so the air could dry them.

He straightened and stretched his arms high over his head with a yawn. He gazed out over the hangers with his hands on his hips, wondering which one of them Eva would be facing next. His gaze landed on Lupanian hanger. He hoped that she didn't have to face them. He wasn't sure that he wouldn't be going crazy with nerves throughout the whole race. Duncan was good, maybe better than Eva, although Remus really didn't want to admit that.

Guns went off.

Remus whipped around and leapt through his window. He wrenched open the door and sprinted down the hallways into the part of the hanger where the Arrow was. It had come to life and was shooting at the wall of the hanger. Stan was crouched behind a crate.

Someone ran into Remus. "What is going on here?" Don demanded, shocked.

"I…I don't know. Stan! Get out of there!" Remus shouted.

"I can't! I'm being shot at! It was nice of you notice, though!" Stan snapped.

Remus glanced around. "We've got to do something! It's only a matter of time before the Arrow shots through that crate…"

His eyes landed on the laser fire. A strange feeling came over Remus…but he wasn't sure what it was…

The laser fire stopped for a second. The guns pointed towards the back of the Arrow and towards the balcony—and directly at Remus and Don. They started to fire.

Remus and Don jumped back to opposite sides of the gunfire. Remus, however, jumped onto the wrong side. The guns swiveled a bit in his direction—and a laser caught his arm.

He let out a strangled cry, somewhere between a scream and a yelp.

The left reactor sparked and exploded.

* * *

"The pit's on fire!" 

Eva and Jordan sprinted toward the hanger.

"What happened?" Eva asked.

"You missed all the fun," Stan said sarcastically. He, Koji and Don Wei were standing around the left reactor, which was destroyed.

"Molly, the left reactor…" Jordan whispered.

"Don't even go there, Jordan," Eva whispered back. "It's just a coincidence."

A low, pathetic whining caught their attention. Off to the side, sitting on a crate was Remus, cradling a bleed and burned arm.

"Remus!" Eva gasped. "What happened to him? What's wrong with you? Why isn't anyone helping him?"

"We tried," Stan said. "But he—"

Eva started toward him.

"Molly!" Don grabbed her arm. "Don't go near him."

"Why not?" Eva snapped.

"He won't let anyone near him," Don said. "We've tried to get a look at his arm, and he nearly bit us." It was then Eva noticed a rip in the sleeve of Don's shirt.

"What happened to him?"

"There was a virus that it took control of the Arrow. Not just making it fly, but the guns too," Koji explained.

"So…so that's a laser wound?" Jordan asked.

"Yes."

He gave Eva a guilty look. "Oh man…"

Eva inched closer to Remus slowly. "Remus? Are you okay?"

Remus head snapped up. His eyes were glowing green, and he snarled, baring fangs at her.

"Remus?" She took a small step forward…

Remus howled as he lunged forward. Eva shrieked and jumped back. Remus swiped at her with his good hand. She tripped, and stumbled backward into Don, knocking him to the floor.

"Molly!" Jordan cried. He grabbed her and pulled her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"Y…yeah…" Eva was watching Remus frightfully, but Remus had retreated back to his crate and was sitting down again. He cradled his arm and whined.

"Poor guy…you don't think…?"

"Shut up, Jordan," Eva growled. She didn't want the game to be the cause of this. She didn't want to responsible for Remus getting hurt.

Someone started laughing. Everyone glanced around. Remus growled louder.

"You're team is the worst! They got the lowest score ever!"

Eva gasped. "There!" She pointed at Koji's screen pad.

A face had appeared on it. It was a brightly colored cat-like alien. "And your security system is pathetic. A twelve year old could crack it—blindfolded! I should know. I'll be twelve next week!" She started laughing hysterically again.

"Paradice," Eva and Jordan said.

Don looked up at them. "What?"

They laughed nervously.

"What…? How is she doing that? This isn't even connected to anything…"

"Hey, my wrench! I was wondering where I'd left it," Stan said, pointing to a tool on the floor behind Paradice.

"Of course. I short range AMF connection," Koji said. They turned to look at a door leading off into another part of the hanger.

"If I get my hands on that cat, I'll take all _nine_ of its lives," Don growled.

Remus snarled low, stalking closer. He shied around them and toward the door. He crouched down and sniffed the metal. His rumbling growl stopped. He climbed up on top of the Arrow's gun tube and stared at the door with piercing, glowing eyes.

Eva took a step forward, hesitated, then walked up to the door. Stan and Koji followed while Don hung back slightly, eyeing Remus mistrustfully. Remus didn't notice. He crouched as still as a statue.

Eva opened the door.

Paradice looked up at them surprised as the door opened. She got to her feet and took a step back.

"Get her!" Don shouted. Stan, Koji and Jordan rushed forward. Paradice jumped over them nimbly and ran out of the door, jumping over Don towards the Arrow—and right into Remus.

Time slowed for a moment. Eva could clearly see Paradice eyes widen and her mouth go slack…Remus stood, drooling, glowing dark green eyes flashing, a wolfish grin pulling his lips away from his teeth, exposing fangs as he was caught in a state between wolf and man…

Then Remus grabbed Paradice by the arm and flung her down onto the Arrow. Time sped up. Remus jumped on her. Paradice rolled. Remus grabbed her arm and craned his neck up to look at her, jaws snapping. Paradice meowed furiously and slashed her claws across his face. He howled and brought his hands up to his face. She hissed as him and he snarled, angrier than ever. In the time it took Paradice to blink, she wasn't facing what seemed to be an insanely furious human—she was staring up into the eyes of a Lupanian, towering over her, slippery ropes of drool hanging from its teeth.

Remus dove. Paradice jumped up and hit his back. She sprang away toward the door.

Remus tore after her on all fours. She jumped off the Arrow onto the ground outside. Remus jumped and soared over her by twenty feet. He hit the ground and spun to face her with the grace of a panther…and then his right arm collapsed under him. He crashed to ground.

Paradice ran away.

The Earth Team stood in the doorway, staring at Remus in shock as he got to his feet. Remus shook his head and snarled. Then he whined. He licked his arm tenderly.

"Remus?" Eva walked forward ever so slowly.

Remus eyes flashed as they met hers…then he seemed to deflate. He lay down on his side and stared up at her with heavy eyes. Eva was terrified as she knelt down by his side…he really would've killed Paradice. She was lucky that his arm was hurt or else she wouldn't have gotten away…Remus would've hunted her down quickly and it would've all been over.

Eva gently began to pet his head. Nervously, she scratched his ear. Remus closed his eyes and growled, but there was a crooning note to it. They'd have to do something about his arm, quick.

"Does anyone have any painkillers and disinfectant?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.

"No," Koji said. "We tried to get him to the doctors, but he wouldn't let us near him. He got really scary."

"That'll be his Lupanian side," Stan said. "When they're in pain…or in danger…they're more like wolves than anything."

"He's been in pain before and hasn't lost it like this," Eva said.

"Has he had a laser through his arm?"

"Good point," she muttered. "But…Lupanians heal fast. Shouldn't he be healed already?"

"His skin's been burned," Jordan said. "They made us learn about all kinds of aliens in the military. Since Lupanians would most likely be our allies, they made us learn all about them so that we understood them and knew how to handle them if they went off like Remus has. Anyway, one of the things we learned was that they heal by regenerating their skin. To do that, the skin cells around the wound start to divide like crazy, making new skin cells to cover the wound in several layers of skin within a few minutes.

"But since his skin's been burn, those cells are dead," Jordan continued, "and he can't use those. There's something in his blood that triggers it. It's a chemical that gets released when he gets adrenaline flowing and when it gets hit with a ton of oxygen, it starts to work. But there's a different chemical that gets released when the skin is damaged. It's a sort of acid that will eat away the dead cells, but won't hurt the living ones. But that doesn't get released with adrenaline. That gets released when the skin regeneration chemical sends out a signal saying that it can't do its work. So normally with small cuts this only takes maybe thirty seconds. With this, it'll take several minutes. Possibly ten at the most. And all the while, he's going to be in pain because I'll bet anything that hit his bone and muscles. We can't get close enough to look, but I'll bet there's a hole in his arm. Regrowing skin doesn't hurt but regrowing muscles and bone is painful and takes longer and they'll be sore for several days afterward."

Everybody stared at him.

"Wow, Jordan, that was…" Eva trailed off, not sure what to say.

Jordan rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, well… I think we should get his arm bandaged."

"Right."

"Stan, Koji," Don said, "get to work on the Arrow. We have a race in a few hours. Jordan, Molly, get Remus bandaged up and then I want word with you."

Eva really didn't like the tone of his voice. They were going to be in so much trouble…

Eva suddenly felt Remus muscles writhe under her hand. She shrieked and jumped back—it was the most disturbing thing she'd ever experienced. In two blinks of an eye, Remus was back to normal…or at least, he looked normal.

"Come on, Remus, let's get up to the kitchen and clean that wound," she said gently. She helped him carefully get to his feet. He stumbled and leaned against her. She staggered a step to the side. Jordan took Remus' injured right arm gently and draped it over his shoulders.

Remus growled at him softly in warning. Jordan gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, buddy. This is my fault."

Remus whined slightly, eyes still glowing a bit and licked Jordan's cheek.

Jordan's eye twitched but he didn't say anything.

Eva gave him an odd look.

"It's a wolf thing," Jordan said. "That's one way to apologize."

Eva nodded. _He's still in his wolfish mindset._ She and Jordan helped him to the kitchen and began to clean his wound as best they could with warm water and soap. Once they cleared away the blood, they could clearly see the hole in his arm.

"Um…I'm not really sure what to do," Jordan admitted. "We were taught how to do quick repairs that would be fixed by a real doctor soon after that—hopefully, anyway. This is different. We can't put anything in his arm because the skin'll regrow around it…I think…I'm not sure…maybe not…"

"Well, you're supposed to clean cuts with soap and water," Eva said. "Maybe if we poured soapy water into it…?"

"Yeah, maybe," Jordan said. "But I think there's something else in his blood that battles bacteria and stuff…and there wouldn't be any bacteria from that…"

"Not from the laser, but he was on the ground and bacteria's everywhere… Let's just pour some soapy water through it just in case."

Jordan shook his head. "I feel like a complete idiot treating a wound like this…" He took a glass and filled it with water. Then he poured some liquid soap into it, clamped his hand down on the top and shook it furiously until it was foamy frothing mess.

"Put your hand here on this side of the wound," Jordan instructed. "That should keep it from falling out the other side."

Eva did as she was told. Jordan poured the hot soap water into the wound until it was filled.

Remus whined and squirmed a bit.

Jordan held him still gently. A minute later, he took Eva's hand from Remus arm and the water poured out. "Okay. Now that we've pathetically cleaned the wound, let's wrap it up in something."

Eva snapped her fingers. "I've got it!"

"What is it?"

"That handkerchief Don Wei always carries around in his pocket," Eva said. "We can use that."

Jordan didn't look convinced. "I don't think he's going to give that to us for this, Molly."

"Then we'll get another one," she said with a grin. Before Jordan could stop her, she had run out of the room.

"Molly, wait! That's really not such a good idea!" But he couldn't chase after her; Remus was slumped against him, seemingly unconscious. "Great. As if we weren't in enough trouble."

* * *

Eva glanced around quickly before ducking into Don Wei's office. She started looking through things. "Oh come on…there's gotta be one around here somewhere…" She opened a drawer in the desk and found one. "Yes!" It was then a box on the desk caught her eye. It was locked with a small gold padlock. Her eyes landed on the key next to it. She figured that he'd been looking at whatever was in the box before the "Arrow incident" and rushed out before realizing that he'd left the key out. 

She paused…then grabbed the key and opened the box. She froze. Inside was a picture of her, Don and Maya…Her nerves suddenly got to her and she could swear that someone was coming even though she couldn't hear anything. She quickly closed the box, locked it and ran.

"I'm back," she said breathlessly several moments later.

"Okay, let me see it. Did Don Wei see you?" Jordan asked as he folded the cloth several times into a strip and began to wrap the handkerchief around Remus arm. He tied it tightly.

"No," Eva said. She brushed Remus hair out of his eyes. "Is he alright?"

"Unconscious, I think," Jordan answered.

Remus groaned.

"Of course, I could be wrong about that," Jordan said.

Remus groaned and opened his eyes. "Sorry, guys…I think I lost it a bit…"

"A bit?" Jordan raised an eyebrow. "You had a full on freak attack, buddy. But it's okay. You're fine now."

"Did I dream it or were you guys cleaning my wound with soapy water?"

"Er…" Eva and Jordan glanced at each other.

"You idiots," Remus murmured as he laid his head back against Jordan's shoulder again.

* * *

"A GAME ARCADE?!" 

Eva and Jordan hung their heads.

"Sorry, sir, it won't happen again," Eva said.

"Well, since I can see that you realize your mistake and won't repeat it, I guess you should just get ready for the race," Don said. He walked away stiffly.

"It was my fault this happened," Jordan said. "Thanks for taking the heat, Molly."

Eva shrugged. "What are partners for?"

* * *

Don scowled at the ship on the monitor. "That ship looks awful!" 

"Beauty is more than paint, sir," Stan said. "She flies."

"We'll see."

Remus arm was now in a sling (he'd gone to the doctors and they'd rubbed something into his skin to make sure he didn't get an infection and given him something to drink to kill the pain), and he glanced at Don. "Nobody's judging us by our ship. They judge by our flying."

Don ignored him.

Remus shrugged. "Fine. Be that way."

Paradice ship came out. It looked like a cathead with a screen in the front displaying a cartoon face. It was grinning and the ship was bobbing up and down as though dancing. It was almost as though it were a game.

Jordan growled. "I'm gonna kill that cat."

"Easy Jordan," Eva said though there was a dangerous note to her voice. "That's against the rules. We need to make it look like an accident."

Jordan's face appeared on the screen on the control panel. "You've been hanging around Remus too long."

Eva smirked. "Got that right."

Paradice face popped up on a screen to Eva's right. "Meow. It takes a lot of courage to fly a wreck like that. But don't expect me to go easy on you, big girl."

"My name is Molly," Eva said angrily. "And this is no longer one of your games, Paradice. This is for _real_."

"You'll never learn! I'll _never_ let you get the Ultimate Prize!" With that, the screen disappeared.

"Uh?"

* * *

"The Ultimate Prize?" Don muttered. 

Remus glanced at him. "What's that?"

"I don't know."

* * *

"Today's race will include a special rule," a Scrub announced. "Arena race!" 

Another Scrub hit the gong. The Arrow rose up into the air, the landing gear retracting inside. The gates dropped and the ships shot forward. They went around a turn and entered a tunnel. (The control room lost visual). The tunnel took a dip down—the Arrow hit the roof. It spun around and leveled out just in time for them to exit the tunnel. The Arrow dropped again, and it a pipe. They spun around again.

"Molly!" Jordan cried.

Eva got the Arrow under control and looked around. "Where are we?"

"This is our…arena, I guess," Jordan said.

* * *

The control room regained visual. 

"Molly, can you hear me? Do you copy?" Don demanded.

Remus put his free hand in his pocket and closed his eyes. "Relax, sir. If she can hear you, she'll answer. If she doesn't…she knows what she's doing."

"Be quite, Remus," Don said. "Now is not the time."

"You know what? I think now this the perfect time," Remus snapped.

"Guys, pay attention!" Koji said worriedly.

Remus and Don looked back to the screen.

* * *

Paradice popped out of nowhere. "Ready or not, here I come." She flew right at them. 

Eva stepped on the pedals. The Arrow got out of the way just in time to avoid a collision.

"You didn't hide very well," said Paradice over a speaker system. Inside her ship, she jumped around on the DDR control pad. "Fly little missile, fly, fly away!"

A mass of missiles flew from the cat ears of the ship and locked onto the Arrow. Jordan turned the guns to fire. He hit only a few.

"Missiles closing in! I can't hold them!" he cried.

Eva narrowed her eyes and flew up in one of the tunnels surrounding the arena. The missiles hit the sides. They were safe.

The tunnel turned and they saw light. They came out into another arena.

"Another arena?" Jordan asked.

"Jordan, this…looks really familiar," Eva said.

* * *

"Molly, this race is not a—" 

"She can't hear you, sir," Koji interrupted. "Communications are scrambled."

"Then how can I give her my orders?" Don demanded.

"You can't," Remus said. "You'll just have to trust her. Like you do the rest of the team."

Don glared at him.

* * *

"You're hopeless at hide and seek!" Paradice said. Her ship came around a corner and started firing missiles at them. Eva stepped on the gas. 

"We're back where we started!" Jordan cried.

Eva flew into the passage between the tunnels and the arena. The missiles hit the wall. Eva stopped between two of the openings to the tunnels and turned off the Arrow. Paradice flew closer to the tunnels. The ship seemed to glance around.

The only thing on in the Arrow was the communication link between the cockpit and the turret.

"This place is one big maze," Jordan whispered.

"If this is a maze, then there has to be a way out," Eva whispered back.

"Got any bright ideas?"

Eva was silent for a moment. Then she looked up. "Why don't we go out the way we came in!" she muttered.

Cannons came out of Paradice's ship. They began to fire at the opening next to the Arrow. Eva turned on the Arrow and flew in the opposite direction. The cannons flowed—they caught up. The Arrow was hit with laser fire every time it flew past an opening.

"Molly, you've gotta make a choice!"

"I'm trying! They all look the same to me!"

She sped up and got ahead of the bullets.

* * *

"Are the repairs still holding?" Don asked. 

Koji was typing away furiously, eyes glued to a screen showing the Arrow's stats. "For the moment, yes. Ask me again in five minutes." He sounded very stressed.

Remus walked closer to the screen showing the inside of the cockpit. He stood beside Don, staring at the screen confidently. "You can do it, E."

Don glanced down at him. He said nothing.

* * *

Paradice's cannons were catching up to the Arrow again. Her face appeared on a screen to Eva's left. "You should just give up, Molly. I want to the Ultimate Prize very, very, very, very, very, very badly." She said the last part in a sort of whiny voice that annoyed Eva more than anything. Back in the control room, Remus growled in irritation and scratched his ear. 

"What are you talking about?" Eva snapped. "All you talk is nonsense."

"Don't play innocent with me," Paradice said. "You know very well that the Ultimate Prize gives the winner any wish, any dream!"

Eva's eyes widened. "I could have any wish…any dream…?"

"You have a wish, don't you, Molly?" Paradice asked.

At that moment, an image of Maya flashed through Eva's head as an image of his parents flew through Remus'.

The cannons caught up with the Arrow. A dust cloud rose up. Eva stopped and turned off the Arrow once again.

"I'll buy us some time," Jordan said.

"Okay. Just keep us out of the lake." She turned on the Arrow and flew out into the open quickly, taking Paradice by surprise. Jordan fired.

"Somebody hit that cat!"

A laser hit Paradice ship. The face on the screen turned furious. Missiles surrounded them—one hit the left reactor. It went out.

* * *

"Molly, Jordan, abandon ship!" Don shouted. 

"You know she can't hear you, sir," Koji said.

"Molly," Don growled.

"Come on, E! You can do it! There's a way out of there, and you can find it!" Remus cried confidently.

"It's over, Remus," Don said angrily. "She failed."

Remus face brightened. "Oh no, she didn't!"

Don turned back to the screen.

* * *

Eva's eyes landed on one of the pipes. It had a crack in it and water was pouring out. "That water… We hit that pipe…" Her eyes traveled up the tunnel directly above it. "That's where we came in! That's the way out!" She flew up to it. 

"Molly, what are you doing? Head for the water!" Jordan said.

"I'm sure this is it!"

Paradice fired more missiles—the Arrow flew into the tunnel just a second before they hit.

* * *

Back in the control room, they'd lost transmission again. It was completely silent. Everyone stared at the screen. Don gulped. 

Remus clenched the fist of his good arm. It was only a moment before he jumped up into the air, punching it with his first and shouting, "She did it! She did it!" He laughed. "We won!"

Don, Stan and Koji stared at him.

"What are you talking about?" Don snapped.

Remus grinned. "She made it, I can feel it."

"There's no way…"

Remus grin broadened. "That's because you have no faith!"

An image appeared on the screen. Eva was flying towards the finish line.

"I told you!"

Stan and Koji jumped to their feet and high fived with both their hands.

"They did it!" Koji said.

"They're just so great!" Stan exclaimed.

Koji's face fell. "Now we have to do the repairs all over again…"

Stan put an arm around Koji's shoulder comfortingly. "What else would we do? We're mechanics."

Remus popped up between them, throwing an arm around Stan's shoulder. "Plus, you've got me!"

Stan and Koji glanced at each other worriedly. Then Stan shrugged. "Sure, why not? As long as you don't blow anything up."

Remus scowled. "I _knew_ my boss would make sure everyone knew."

Stan and Koji's mouths dropped open a bit. "Uh…"

Remus glanced at them, then grinned. "I'm only kidding! Honestly, you guys've got to get a sense of humor!"

"It's just…so hard to tell when you're being serious…" Koji said sheepishly.

"I've never blown anything up, let me make that clear right now." Remus beamed at them. "My first boss fired because I put his hamster in a microwave!"

Then he left the room.

Koji looked at Stan. "He wasn't…being serious, was he?"

"Well…no, no of course not," Stan said. "It was just another joke…I think…"

* * *

Don stood stiffly in front of a hologram screen above his desk showing the president of the Earth coalition. 

"Sir, I need to know about the Ultimate Prize," Don said. "You've sent us to fight for Earth. We're fighting. But I will not continue to risk my crew unless you answer my question."

The president closed his eyes. "You'll find some truths are better left unknown. But since you insist…switch to the secure line."

* * *

Eva, Jordan and Remus looked up as Don Wei entered the hanger. He was gripping the railing tight with one hand. 

"Is it true about the Ultimate Prize? Is it really any wish, any dream?" Eva asked. Stan and Koji stopped working.

Don stared at her for a moment. Remus noticed he was shaking slightly. "I guess you'll just have to win the Great Race of Oban to know," he said as he turned and left the hanger.

Eva clenched her fists and growled slightly.

"What's this all about?" Jordan asked.

Remus gave her a worried look, then grabbed a toolbox and climbed up the ladder onto the left reactor to help Stan. He'd ask her questions later.

_You shouldn't underestimate your own daughter, _Eva thought. _You're in for a big surprise._

_**Chapter preview: Treacherous like Toros **– "So," Remus said. "The Ultimate Prize. Any wish, any dream…that's pretty big, isn't it?" _

"_Yeah…" Eva said. "But…maybe Paradice got it wrong. Why didn't we know?"_

"_Well, besides the fact that Don would probably keep it from us, maybe he didn't know. But I wouldn't bet that the Ultimate Prize is that great," Remus said. "No one's got that kinda power, do they?"_

"_Well…the Avatar's the most powerful being in the galaxy, isn't he?" Eva asked. _

_Remus shrugged. "Most powerful doesn't mean 'all powerful, I can do anything, ha, ha, don't you wish you could do what I can do.'"_

"_Okay, you're right, but still…"_

"_It'd be nice, though," Remus whispered, leaning back on his arms to stare at the stars again._

Thanks for reading! Please review!


	10. Treacherous Like Toros Part One

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Oban Star-racers… Still own Remus and Lupanians and Jubalins.

Feeling better! Thanks for your reviews everybody!

Although, **IchikoKitsuneKoumori**, I have to ask, what change is it you like? And is it just called a Japanese table, cause I didn't know if there was some special name for it or not.

Glad you liked Jordan's little speech, **crazyvegimab**! And, **Virtual Dragon of Oban**, if you want to call me just 'Lupe' go ahead, it's fine by me.

Thanks for your review, **Star Fata**. Yeah, I think Remus will rub off some more on Eva in the future. Funny, 'cause I've never written a character like Remus before…his personality brings out a part of my brain I didn't even know I had… …heh…heh…eh…Oo…yeah…

Moon and Star

Ch.10: Treacherous like Toros – Part One

That night, Eva climbed out her window onto the ledge. She walked around until she found Remus. "Hey, Remus," she said quietly, sitting down beside him. "Looking at the stars again?"

"Of course," he replied.

"How's your arm?" she asked. She still felt guilty.

"Fine. It's getting better. A little sore, but it'll be that way for two or three days," Remus said. "No big deal."

Eva shook her head. "Only you could get a hole shot through your arm and call it no big deal."

Remus shrugged. "Any Lupanian could. Or weren't you listening to Jordan's words of wisdom?"

"I wish I was Lupanian," Eva said, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"That's the first time I've heard that," Remus comment.

"Well, you guys have super hearing, super smell, you transform into these creatures with amazing strength and stamina…and you heal like it's no big deal," Eva said. "What's not to like?"

"The prejudice," Remus said. "People still don't like Lupanians."

"That all depends on your point of view, doesn't it? Aren't things getting better?"

"Only because Lupanians have mostly been removed from society," Remus said.

"What do you mean?"

"Yellowstone Park has become part Lupanian reservation," Remus said. "It was a way of separating Lupanians from humans…although, I guess it could also be a way for Lupanians to practice their own culture so it's not destroyed like Duncan said."

They fell into silence. Eventually, Remus broke the silence.

"So," Remus said. "The Ultimate Prize. Any wish, any dream…that's pretty big, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Eva said. "But…maybe Paradice got it wrong. Why didn't we know?"

"Well, besides the fact that Don would probably keep it from us, maybe he didn't know. But I wouldn't bet that the Ultimate Prize is that great," Remus said. "No one's got that kinda power, do they?"

"Well…the Avatar's the most powerful being in the galaxy, isn't he?" Eva asked.

Remus shrugged. "Most powerful doesn't mean 'all powerful.'"

"Okay, you're right, but still…"

"It'd be nice, though," Remus whispered, leaning back on his arms to stare at the stars again.

They were silent a moment before Eva asked quietly, "If it was…what would you wish for?"

Remus was silent. He knew what he'd wish for, but he also knew what Eva would wish for. Was it right to tell her he'd wish for his parents back when that was the same thing Eva wanted? If the Ultimate Prize really were what Paradice claimed, would it be selfish to make her choose between her friend and her mother? Remus glanced at her. She was watching him quietly.

He shrugged. "What do you want?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"Yes, I did," Remus said.

"You shrugged."

"Exactly. That's my answer."

Eva gave him a look. "No, it's not. Tell me? Would it be for your parents to come back?"

Remus paused. Then he sighed. "Yes, I guess." He looked back up at the stars.

"You guess?"

"What would your wish be?"

"For my mother back," Eva said quietly.

Remus swallowed. Now what? "So…we've made it to the final selections."

"Yeah, I guess so," Eva said.

"Well, then…we're on our way to Oban," he said brightly. "We'll win the Ultimate Prize and shove it in Paradice's face, right?"

Eva laughed. "I guess so."

Remus stood and held out a hand to her. "Come on then. It's time for bed. We've got the day off tomorrow."

"What are you talking about?" Eva asked as she took his hand. Remus pulled her to her feet.

"The last races of the preselections are finishing tomorrow. Then that night I think the finalist are being revealed," he said.

"Hhmm…Goodnight, Remus," she said. "See you in the morning."

Remus nodded. "Goodnight." She watched her walk around the bend and out of sight. His gaze fell to the ground. Then he turned and looked up at the stars, one hand on his hip.

* * *

"So, who are you racing today, Duncan?" Hemming asked. His golden hair was devilish, and there were bags under his honey brown eyes. His hands were stuffed in his jean jacket pockets and his white shirt was filthy. His jeans weren't rolled up and he was stepping on the bottoms. He was slouched. 

Duncan glanced him over. "Are you feeling well?"

Hemming sniffed. His skin was pale and clammy. "I'm fine. Who are you racing?"

"Hemming, I really think you should go lie down," Duncan said. "You don't look good." He reached out to place the back of his hand against Hemming's forehead, but Hemming stepped back.

"I'm fine!" he said loudly. Then he started coughing.

"Hemming…"

"It's nothing! My throat's just itchy…" Hemming said quietly.

"Every time you talk?"

"No…just when I talk to loud," Hemming said. "I'll be fine. Seriously. Just tell me who you're racing?" he coughed again.

"Colonel Toros," Duncan said.

"I see…you'll have to be careful, okay?"

"I will if you go get some rest," Duncan said.

"Forget about me, will you?" Hemming said irritated, rubbing his throat gently. "Just concentrate on the race."

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Duncan asked worriedly.

"Do I ever?" Hemming replied bitterly.

Duncan was kept from replying by the appearance of Gerwulf. Gerwulf wore all leather, from his jacket to his boots and had messy brown hair and light brown eyes. He was broad shouldered and in good physical shape.

Gerwulf glanced down at Hemming. "So, how's our shortest member?"

Hemming gave Gerwulf an aggravated look. Hemming was twenty-five and only 5' 2". Everyone knew that his height bothered him and comments about it irritated him.

Gerwulf narrowed his eyes. Apparently, Hemming had missed some sort of message. "Get lost."

Hemming glared at him, but left. He glanced over his shoulder at Duncan and made a cut sign across his throat while jerking his head toward Gerwulf. Duncan stared right at him, but gave no indicate that he had seen the sign.

He turned his gaze back to Gerwulf. "We were having a conversation."

"Well, now you're not," Gerwulf said. "Besides, who cares about McShorty?"

"_I_ care," Duncan said dangerously. "And you'd better not call him that again."

Gerwulf gave him a sly look. "Or what?" He drew himself up to his full 6' 1". Duncan wasn't that impressed. He himself was 5' 9" so Gerwulf didn't have that much on him. Besides, Duncan was the head of the wolf pack. Gerwulf wasn't. There was a reason for that, and it had nothing to do with him being the Rider.

"Or I'll kick you out of here and send you home with your tail between your legs," Duncan said.

Gerwulf got right in Duncan's face, transforming. "I'd like to see you try."

Duncan transformed himself. They were muzzle to muzzle. "You might just get your wish."

Gerwulf grinned, his lips pulling back from his fangs. Duncan growled. Their eyes were locked, their fangs bared, bodies tense—

"Duncan!" Bardawulf shouted, entering the room. "You needed to get out there! The race is about to—" He cut off when he saw Gerwulf and Duncan both in their Lupanian forms standing so close to each other, their fur standing on end. "Uh…what's going on?"

"Nothing, brat," Gerwulf snapped, turning and stalking away.

Duncan looked ready to pounce on him and tear him apart. "He's a member of the pack! You'll treat him with proper respect!"

Gerwulf looked over his shoulder. "Tsh. Part of the pack? That means nothing."

"It's more than you can say," Duncan shot back.

"If I wanted to be part of pack, I'd be leading one," Gerwulf said. Then he left the room.

"Duncan?" Bardawulf asked.

Duncan sighed and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he opened his eyes again and looked at Bardawulf. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll deal with it later."

Barda nodded.

Duncan entered the pit. Hunter greeted him playfully. "Easy, Hunter. Get down," he said. Hunter lay down. Duncan grabbed fistfuls of Hunter's shaggy fur and climbed up onto his back.

"Okay. Let's go."

* * *

"This next race is the Lupanian Team vs. Colonel Toros!" 

Hunter bounded out of one of the team entrances, stopping in the middle, panting. "Easy does it, Hunter," Duncan said, scratching his steed's back.

He turned his attention to the other entrance as a ship entered slowly: a Crog trident. He narrowed his eyes. He would have to be on his guard. He didn't know what to expect.

The gong sounded. The gate dropped. The trident barreled forward. Hunter crouched down, tensed and released like a spring. They were racing side by side. The trident swerved and nearly hit Hunter's legs. Hunter leapt up into the air. Toros was forced to move or else have Hunter come down on him. They went through a tunnel. They were in there for only a minute before they came out the other side. Off in the distance, Duncan could see the finish line. Toros put on a burst of speed. Hunter's strides lengthened until he caught up with Toros. They lengthened a little more until he pulled ahead.

The finish line was coming up. "Here we go." Duncan looked behind him. His eyes widened. The blades of the trident were glowing white and crackling with power. "What—?"

Toros put on the hyperdrive. He shot forward like a cannonball—and the body of the ship pasted a millimeter away from Hunter—the blades cut deep into his leg.

Hunter howled and staggered. Duncan gripped his fur tightly. Hunter limped and nearly collapsed. He managed to gain his balance just in time for Duncan to see Toros cross the finish line.

* * *

Duncan had gotten off Hunter's back was leading him slowly toward the hanger, trying to ignore the blood running down Hunter's leg and splattering on the ground and on him. 

"HUNTER!" Lily cried. She rushed out of the hanger, followed quickly by the rest of the team. Gerwulf leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, watching with a cold sneer in his eyes.

"Come on," Duncan said. "We need to get him cleaned and bandaged."

Hunter hopped awkwardly on three legs, holding his other in the air.

"We saw what Toros did, that…" Bardawulf growled. "That was underhanded."

Hunter lay down, whining.

"It's okay, Hunter," Lily said soothingly. She looked up at Duncan. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm worried about Hunter," he replied.

"What's it matter?" Gerwulf asked. "You lost the race. We're out. We're going home."

"Now is not the time, Gerwulf," Duncan said.

Gerwulf shrugged. "Don't get mad at me. You could've won that race."

Duncan spun around. "HOW? Toros had more speed than I did! How would you have done it?"

"I would've crushed him in the first half of the race," Gerwulf said. "Is there anything in the rules saying that you can't jump onto your opponent's racer, rip it open and throw out the pilot?"

"You're a fool," Duncan spat. "To think you could take on a full grown Crog by yourself."

"At least I'm not the loser," Gerwulf said with a smirk. "What I would or wouldn't have done no longer matters. We're going home, thanks to you."

Lily placed a hand on Duncan's shoulder to restrain him. "Pick your battles," she whispered. "Hunter is what matters now. Deal with him later."

Duncan narrowed his eyes at Gerwulf, but turned and nodded to her. He brought his attention back to Hunter.

Gerwulf sneered and opened his mouth to speak when Hemming barreled into him, knocking him to the ground.

"Sorry," Hemming said, "did I hit you? Too bad, my arms are full of things; you'll have to get yourself up, now won't you? But then I suppose that won't be something new for you, is it? I'll bet you get knocked flat on your backside all the time, don't you?"

Gerwulf glared at him as Hemming hurried up to Duncan and knelt beside him, placing the medical supplies down on the ground. Duncan grabbed a cloth and the bowl of water and began trying to clean the blood away. Bardawulf took the water bowl and put something in it.

"What was that?" Duncan asked.

"Disinfectant," Barda replied.

Duncan nodded, dipped the cloth in it again and cleared away more blood.

Gerwulf got to his feet and stalked toward Hemming, transforming. His teeth bared, he snarled, "You little—"

Before he could finish the sentence, every member of the team had transformed and whipped around to face him, growling. He took a step back, eyes traveling over them.

"I think you should leave," Duncan said. "Maybe clear your head a bit, go goad Toros, get your sorry hide kicked and then come back. Maybe you'll get a better personality while your gone."

Gerwulf's eyes traveled over the pack again before he turned and left.

Duncan turned back to Hunter. "Okay…somebody help me clean this."

* * *

Eva struggled to keep up with Remus as he ran through the crowds, dragging her by her wrist. "Remus, where are we going?" 

"Exploring! I got some of my money exchanged into gold and silver coins earlier so I figured now's a good time to go check stuffs out!" Remus said. He was glancing around like a kid in a candy shop.

"Remus, don't you think you're acting just a bit…weird?"

"And that's different from everyday…how?"

"Er…good question." Eva shook her head and planted her feet, pulling back on him. Remus stopped and stumbled backward.

"What?" he whined.

"Just relax okay? Let's not scary the nice, normal people, shall we?"

"But it's so much fuuuuuuuuuuun!"

"I know it is, I know it is," Eva said gently, patting the top of Remus head as he slumped over. "But you can do that back at the hanger. Okay?"

Remus awkwardly crossed his arms (due the sling he was still wearing on his right arm) and pouted. "Fine."

"Good. First off, I think you need some clothes that'll fit you," Eva said. She looked around and spotted a vender that appeared to be selling all different kinds of clothes from other planets. "Er…okay…well, let's start there."

Remus looked at the clothes skeptically. "Eva, these are all festive clothes. Plus, they're in bright rainbow colors. I don't like bright rainbow colors."

Eva was looking through the clothes to find things in Remus' size. "Here." She tossed a shirt at him, which hit him in the face.

"Ah…thanks, E, I appreciate that," he said.

"Your welcome."

Remus held it up in front of him. It was cream colored with dusty brown trimming. "Hhmm…I could like this." He held it out to Eva. "Does it look like it fits?"

Eva turned around. She took the shirt and held it up against his chest. "Yeah. At least it's not so baggy."

"Well, my clothes have to be baggy," Remus said. "They'll rip when I transform if I don't."

"I've seen members of the Lupanian team walking around these past few days," Eva said, "but their clothes don't all hanging off them like yours. I'm continually surprised that your shirt doesn't slip off your shoulders."

Remus laughed dryly. "Thanks."

"Well, seriously, your unnaturally skinny and you're not broad shouldered either," Eva said.

"If you want to say that I'm unattractive just say it already," Remus replied, rolling his eyes with a long-suffering sigh.

"I never said that!" Eva said.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So you think I am?"

"Are what?"

"Attractive?"

Eva stared at him for a long time. So long in fact, that Remus finally said, "Well?"

"I'm trying to decide whether or not I should hit you," Eva said.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Remus said slyly. "It's the Prince that's got _your_ eye."

Eva went beat red. "What? I don't know what you're talking about! Who told you about Prince Aikka anyway?"

"I'm not deaf," he said. "I heard Jordan complaining about him."

"Jordan? Why would he be complaining about Aikka?"

Remus shrugged. "Not sure. I didn't catch the whole thing. But it had something to do with being the lapdog to the Crogs and 'didn't need him to save me, I was doing just fine.' Not sure what _that_ was all about, but…"

"Whatever." Eva grabbed a pair of cream-colored pants with dusty brown trim to match the shirt and held them to Remus' waist. "There. Those look like they'd fit you too." She handed them off to Remus and went back to looking through the clothes.

Remus stepped up beside her and placed an elbow on her shoulder. "So, E, tell me about this Prince."

"Would you cut it out, Remus; there's nothing to tell," Eva said.

"Of course not," Remus said. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Just spill your deepest, darkest desires to me. They'll be safe."

Eva stepped to side swiftly. Remus fell to the ground. "Ouch!"

Eva smirked. She grabbed an outfit of a black vest, black shirt and black pants with intricate dark blue designs that looked almost Celtic before reaching into Remus sweater pocket and pulling out his coin bag. She paid the vender and started off.

Remus jumped to his feet. "Wait for me!" He ran after her only to bump into someone else. "Sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going."

The person he'd bumped into had reddish-brown skin and red hair that was put up in an odd style. He wore a strange headpiece and had light blue eyes. Most of all, he looked oddly familiar…

"It's all right," he said politely. "These things sometimes happen. You were chasing after a friend?"

"Uh, yeah, but how—?"

"I heard someone yell to wait up, and I merely wondered if that was you," he said. He looked around. "Who is your friend? Is it Molly?"

"Uh…yeah," Remus said surprised. "Um…how did…?"

"We've met," he said. "She's very nice, although her gunner Jordan is very rude."

"He's not always like that," Remus said.

"Perhaps… Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself," he said. "I am Prince Aikka. What is your name?"

"Remus Lycaon," Remus said, holding out his hand for Aikka to shake. Aikka looked at his hand, confused. "Oh, sorry. It's a custom on Earth for people to shake hands when they meet." Remus returned his hand to his side. "How do people on Nourasia greet each other?"

"We greet people we've never met before formally with a bow," Aikka replied. He bowed to Remus. Remus bowed back. Aikka's lips quirked up. He straighted, and Remus followed suit. "However, we don't greet friends so formally. Usually just a simple hello."

"Ah, I see," Remus said. "That's cool."

"Cool?" Aikka asked.

Remus slowly began to grin a wicked grin…then he heard Eva call, "Prince Aikka!" She was standing beside Remus in a second. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, thank you," Aikka said with a smile. "And you?"

"Fine. I hope Remus hasn't been bothering you," she said, sparing Remus a quick glare.

"Hey! I'm offended by that!" Remus said. "Why do you automatically assume that I'm bothering him?"

"Because I know you," Eva said, giving him a look.

"Oh…eh…good point," Remus said with a shrug.

"So was he?" Eva asked Aikka.

"No, not at all," Aikka said with a laugh. "He was very well behaved."

Eva's eyebrows shot up. "You're kinding, right? Well behaved and Remus don't belong in the same sentence…let alone with 'very' in front of it."

Remus scowled…then he grinned. "Heh, heh…that's my charm, that's my charm," he said, resting his arm on Eva's shoulder again. Eva side stepped and Remus fell to the ground. "_Would you stop doing that?_"

Aikka stared.

* * *

Gerwulf kicked a stone viciously. It flew up into the air and hit someone in the back of the head. He didn't even bother to glance at them as he pushed past. _That stupid Duncan, thinking he's all that,_ he thought viciously. 

He started walking around past the hangers of each other competitors on Alwas. Most of them would be going home after the final selections, wanting to see who among them would go onto Oban, but he, for one, just wanted to get off this planet as soon as possible. There was no reason to stay.

Other than to show Duncan up, of course, but now that they weren't even in the race, there was no way to do that…unless he beat Duncan in a fight and took over as Alpha. He stopped. A wicked smile spread over his face. His cold eyes narrowed. _Perfect…_

_**Chapter preview: Treacherous Like Toros – Part Two **– "Be careful, E," Remus said. "Toros isn't someone to mess around with. Duncan heard you were racing him and said that Toros was the one that he was racing when Hunter—his wolf—was hurt. So be careful."_

"_I will Remus, I promise," Eva said. _

_Remus nodded. "Tell Jordan to keep his eyes open."_

_Eva nodded back. "Sure thing."_

_Remus gave her thumbs up. "Go get 'em, E," he said. Then he climbed down the ladder and pulled it away from the Arrow. Eva started it up and headed off for the race. _

Thanks for reading and please review!

As always, if you've spotted a spelling or grammatical error or an inconsistency, please let me know and I'll fix it!


	11. Treacherous Like Toros Part Two

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Oban Star-racers…Or songs by MXPX. Still own Remus and Lupanians and Jubalins.

Now enjoy the chapter! I'm sorry it took so long for me to get it up, but I didn't have time last week and this week was absolutely hectic, I'm so glad its over. On the other hand, Oban Star-racers ends on Monday! The last three episodes! I can't wait, I'm exploding with anticipation! Although, I will become emo when it ends…okay, so I won't but I've already informed my brother and parents that I'll need 5 to 30 minutes of feeling as though my life has no meaning before anyone's allowed to slap me.

Okay, NOW you can enjoy the chapter. The lyrics are from Heard that Sound by MXPX.

Moon and Star

Ch.11: Treacherous Like Toros

Remus lay on the grass, arms behind his head, staring at the sky as the clouds rolled by. He took a deep breath of air and let it out. _This is nice…it's been a while since I've done this,_ he thought.

The sling his arm was supposed to be in was set on the ground by his head. He placed the full weight of his head on his left arm. He knew that Eva would get mad if she saw him without the sling on, but truthfully, he hated the thing. And he didn't need it anyway. It was just there to help prevent it from being bumped unnecessarily and causing him pain.

_Not that that's something I'm not used to,_ Remus thought, frowning. He began to tap his foot against the air, hearing one of his favorite songs begin to play in his head. Softly he began to sing, "_Without a window to see through/I did my time, in here without you,/Slept on the floor down in LBC,/Meet me back home under the marquee."_

He hummed the next little bit between verses, closing his eyes. _"It seems like misery loves misery,/My favorite songs they keep me company,/So many memories come down to this,/I maybe be lost but I'm not hopeless."_

The next second, someone tripped over him and he sat up quickly. "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

The person spun around to glare down at him. "Why don't you stay out of my way, you waste of organs."

Remus bared his teeth, glaring. "How do you think you are?"

The Lupanian had dark brown hair and light brown eyes. He was wearing all leather. The smell caused Remus to sneeze. "Tsh. I'm worth more than you is all I can say."

"Says who?"

"Well for one, you're defiantly on welfare since you can't even afford _decent_ clothes. What are those? Rags?" Remus didn't respond. "Well? Are you going to say something, loser?"

"My name's Remus," Remus said. "And who are you?"

The Lupanian raised an eyebrow. "That's none of your business."

"Well if I'm supposed to worship the ground you walk on, I'd at least like to know your name," Remus said defiantly, giving him a cheeky grin.

The Lupanian swooped down, grabbed Remus sweater and hauled him to his feet. "You little brat—!"

"GERWULF!"

The Lupanian paused. He looked over his shoulder at Lily and two twins running toward them.

"What are you doing?" Lily demanded. "Put him down!"

"Aaawww, what's this? Big cuz trying to protect little cuz?" Gerwulf said in a mockingly sweet voice. "How cute."

"I said put him down!" Lily shouted.

"Make me!" Gerwulf yelled, giving Remus a vicious shake. "You're precious Duncan isn't here to help you, and I've had it up to here with you all! Besides, wasn't it Duncan who told me to go take a walk and pick a fight? Well, here I am, doing as ordered."

"Gerwulf, you're being an idiot!" Lily said angrily. "Now put him down right now, and I won't hurt you!"

Gerwulf laughed. "You? Hurt me? That's a laugh, that really is. We all know you hide behind Duncan. You're weak, pathetic and most of all, you're a—"

Remus snarled and bit Gerwulf's hand. Gerwulf howled and threw Remus to the ground. Remus scrambled to his feet. He jumped to the side when Gerwulf lunged.

"Remus!" Lily cried.

Remus' eyes left Gerwulf for a split second to land on her—but a split second was all Gerwulf needed. He transformed and spun around to face Remus, backhanding him with his arm. Remus was knocked to the ground.

His head snapped against the ground with a dull thud. Light exploded in front of his eyes. _Why me…? Why does this always happen to me?_ His head pounded, but he forced himself to think. _I lost to the Crog, I lost to Paradice, like hell I'm going to lose again. This time it's war._

Rage and frustration burst forth. With a snarl, he transformed and got to his feet. They lunged and collided in midair. They hit the ground in a furious mass of claws and teeth.

Remus tried to claw across Gerwulf's face and bit his ear. Gerwulf howled and bit Remus' shoulder next to his neck. Remus' blood turned to ice as he realized how close Gerwulf had come to being able to rip open his neck.

Lily watched in horror. "Gerwulf, you moron!" she whispered.

The twins, Lupe and Lupita, were jumping up and down, cheering. "Go, Remus! Bit his ear off! Bit his ear off!"

"Shut up, you two," Lily snapped. Then she muttered, "Come on, Remus…"

Remus managed to flip Gerwulf over onto his back and went for his neck, jaws snapping. _I've had it with losing! Not again!_ Gerwulf let go of his shoulder to block his neck, snarling at Remus. Remus bit down sideways on Gerwulf's muzzle, forcing it closed. Gerwulf yelped and tried to get free but Remus bit down harder. He moved away from Gerwulf, forcing the other Lupanian to follow him, shaking his head. Blood was pouring down the sides of Gerwulf's mouth.

Finally, Gerwulf whimpered and stopped fighting. Remus waited a minute before letting go. Then he pushed Gerwulf back down onto the ground. Remus transformed back and ran into the Earth hanger.

"Remus, wait!" Lily cried.

Eva stared as Remus ran past. "Remus? What's wrong? I heard something happening outside? Are you okay?" she shouted after him. But he continued on down the hall without any sign he'd heard her.

Once safely in his room, Remus leaned against the wall and sighed. His arm was so sore it wasn't funny and cuts, bruises and gashes were stinging and throbbing all over his body. He walked into the bathroom and took off his shirt and sweater. They were wrecked. _Of course, that Gerwulf's leather's probably just fine. I'll have to do something about that later. Before that, I need to learn that neat little trick of melding your clothes into your fur or whatever it was he did…_

Remus got undressed and took a shower. He took extra care to clean the bite wounds on his shoulder before they healed up. Then he washed his hair clean of the blood he knew was it was thick with.

Once finished, he dried himself with a towel, wrapped it around him and walked back out into his room. The clothes that Eva had bought him (with his own money) were folded at the end of the bed. He looked at them thoughtfully. Then he went to the window, placed his hands on the edge of it and leaned out, looking around.

Gerwulf was nowhere in sight. _But that doesn't mean he isn't hiding,_ Remus thought. _I probably shouldn't wear any new clothes until I learn how to transform like he does…but as long as I don't leave the hanger until the final selections opening ceremony thing, I'll be fine…_

He turned and looked back at the clothes. Finally, he walked over and picked up the black vest, shirt and pants. He was completely dressed except for his shoes and socks before he realized that his shoes weren't destroyed.

_Wait a minute…when I transformed, they would've been to small…so how…? Unless…_ Remus' eyes widened a bit. _I can transform my shoes into my fur or whatever it is! But then why can't I do that with the rest of my stuff? Darn it! I didn't even realize I was doing that so how to do I figure what it is that I'm doing so I can do it with the rest of my clothes?_

"Crud," Remus said. Then he sighed and put on his shoes and socks.

* * *

When he finally emerged from his room, it was night out and everyone was gathered in the pit, ready to leave. Eva looked up at the balcony as the door opened and closed.

"Remus!" she said. "What were you doing in there for so long?"

As he walked down the stairs, Remus said, "To tell you the truth, I wasn't in my room. I fooled you all. I'm really a secret ninja out to take over the world."

"Well…it's not a secret anymore."

Remus paused, narrowed his eyes in confusion and looked at the ground. "Dang. I worked so hard at that too…"

"It's okay, it's okay," Eva said. "There's still millions of beings out there unsuspecting of the horrors you can unleash."

"Got that right," Remus said.

"You look nice, by the way," Eva said, "but why did you change your clothes? You ran by so fast that I couldn't get a good look at you but it looked like you'd been in a fight." She frowned.

Don turned to face him. "You were fighting?"

"No. Well…yes," Remus said. "But he started it. He grabbed me and shook me, and then he made fun of my cousin."

"You're cousin was there?" Eva asked. "Remus, just what exactly happened, anyway?"

Remus shrugged. "Hey, don't ask me. Whatever was going on with that guy, he was sure ticked off, but he didn't tell me about it. He felt he'd rather rough me up a bit. I wasn't thrilled about that, but I didn't bite him until he started having a go at my cousin—who was trying to help me by the way. He was a Lupanian and apparently part of their crew. Although, I gathered he doesn't get along well with any of them. When we started fighting, the two twins that were with her started shouting for me to bit his ear off."

Eva raised her eyebrows. "You're sure about that."

Remus nodded. "Heck yeah. He even bite my shoulder, it's really sore. But you know what stinks about being Lupanian?"

"What?"

"You never get any really cool scars."

* * *

Remus, Eva, Jordan and Don Wei sat down in the stands of the arena. Remus looked to the right, and his eyes landed on the Lupanian team. They were all there; Gerwulf was standing at the top of the arena, leaning against a wall. Duncan and Lily were sitting next to each other, watching the twins poking each other and having mock fights. A sturdy, broad-shouldered man was laughing at their antics, and Lily was paying no mind to the man who was pale faced and leaning against her, practically asleep.

Eva followed his line of sight. She nudged him. "Why don't you go over there?"

Remus looked at her. "What? Are you nuts? You think they want me over there?"

"Well, if your cousin came to try and talk to you, she obviously wants to know you." She watched as the twins stood up; one of them tripped and fell backward over one of the stone benches. "Besides…you look like you'd fit right in."

Remus glanced up at Gerwulf darkly. Gerwulf looked at him; they glared at each other for a moment before Gerwulf glanced away.

"Is that the Lupanian who was giving you trouble?" Eva asked, looking at Gerwulf.

"Yeah. But…"

Eva pushed him gently. "Go."

"All right, all right, I'm going," he said, getting to his feet. He started over toward them. Lily looked up at him. Remus hesitated. He took a step backward…

The twin that had fallen looked up. "Hey, are you Remus? Lily's cousin?"

The whole team was looking at him now. Remus nodded silently.

She waved him over. "Come on. Sit with us." She pushed her twin over. "You can sit here."

Remus smiled. "Now, now, I wouldn't want to take a seat from a lady."

"Don't worry, you won't."

"Yeah, come on, Remus, sit down," said the broad-shouldered man. "The more the merrier, I say."

Remus smiled and sat down.

The other twin got up. "Hey…that was my seat."

* * *

Eva and Jordan watched the flames burning in the stone basins. "The six remaining pilots, please step forward," said one of the Scrub announces.

Jordan elbowed Eva gently. "That's us." They stood and started down into the arena. One of the Scrub guards blocked Jordan's way.

"Pilots only. Please return to your seat."

Eva turned around. Jordan shrugged. "Guess I'll be watching with Don Wei. Really thrilling. You just had to convince Remus to join the Lupanian Team, didn't you?" Eva hesitated. "Go ahead. Really."

Eva nodded. But as she left, she heard Jordan say, "Why do pilots get all the fun?"

She entered a ring formed by the remaining racers, although it was dark so she couldn't see their faces. Suddenly, a ring of light appeared around her. The ground lurched and shot upward in six pillars. Eva waved her arms around, trying to regain balance.

In the stands, Remus tensed. _Don't fall off, E._

The pillars stopped rising. The wind picked up, nearly knocking Eva backward. A beam of light hit the ground, blinding them all. The light faded, and the Avatar was floating above them.

"Congratulations, proud pilots," he said in a booming voice. "Toros, Colonel of the Crog Imperium." One of the pillars lit up revealing Toros.

In the stands, Duncan growled. Remus glanced at him. "What's up?"

"Toros…he was the one that beat us and hurt Hunter," Duncan said angrily.

Remus eyes widened in alarm. _Eva…She's going to have to face him…I'd better warn her._

"Rush," continued the Avatar, "from planet Byrus." Another pillar lit up to expose a large, human like alien with white skin, a large red beard and what looked like a pick axe. "The special envoy from planet Adalu, Super-racer." The pillar lit up. Standing on it was a very small man with a white beard and wearing a silly outfit. He flashed the victory sign. "Aikka. Prince of Nurasia."

"Prince Aikka," Eva exclaimed softly.

Aikka turned to look at her. He smiled.

Eva's pillar lit up next. "The representative of the Earth Coalition, Molly. And Spirit," the Avatar said as the last pillar lit up, "ambassador of the Phyls."

Eva's eyes widened. Don started to stand up from his seat.

_A black shadow dropped low over the star-racer. It sped up, and the Star-racer exploded._

Eva closed her eyes and shook her head. She noticed Spirit looking at her and turned away.

Don sat back down, covering his face with one hand. _No,_ he thought angrily_, it _cannot _be him._

Eva turned her attention back to the Avatar as he spoke again. "You will now race against each other in turns. Each victory will earn the winner one point. At the end of six races, the three with the most points will move on to the finals on the planet Oban."

Eva glanced over her shoulder at Don Wei. _I think I can do it, Dad. But I need you to believe in me down there. I don't think just Remus will cut it anymore._

"Race like the wind, champions, toward Oban…and the Ultimate Prize." Then, with a flash of light, the Avatar was gone.

* * *

The next day, Eva was sitting on her rocket bike in the cockpit of the Arrow. Remus was standing on the ladder that was pushed up against the side of the Star-racer, looking at her seriously. That alone was enough to make Eva pay attention. Remus was never serious unless it was because of something severe.

"Be careful, E," Remus said. "Toros isn't someone to mess around with. Duncan said yesterday that Toros was the one that he was racing when Hunter—his wolf—was hurt. So be careful."

"I will, Remus, I promise," Eva said.

Remus nodded. "Tell Jordan to keep his eyes open."

Eva nodded back. "Sure thing."

Remus gave her thumbs up. "Go get 'em, E," he said. Then he climbed down the ladder and pulled it away from the Arrow.

Eva was starting it up when she saw Aikka walking by on his beetle. It was limping, and Aikka was petting the outisde of its shell soothingly.

Jordan's face popped up on the hologram screen to the right of her. "Looks like your boyfriend took a beating."

"Don't go there, Jordan," Eva said. "We still need to do better than Aikka."

Jordan shrugged. "Shouldn't be that hard. The guy rides a bug." Then he turned off the screen.

Eva started up the Arrow and flew off.

In the turrent, Jordan crossed his arms. "I don't know why she cares so much about that guy. He's not that great."

He placed his hands on the triggers as they entered the arena.

Eva glued her eyes to the other entrance. "I have a message to you from Remus, Jordan," she said as the tips of blades started to emerge from it. "He says, 'keep your eyes open.'"

"Not a problem there," he replied. "We're gonna have to. That's a trident. Those are war ships."

"That can't be good," she muttered as Toros pulled up beside her.

Don Wei appeared on a small screen in front of her. "Listen up you two. We're entering these playoffs with a clean slate. I know Toros is tough, but that doesn't mean we can't pull off a surprise victory."

Eva nodded.

"You've both show you're ability to beat the odds," he continued.

"We won't let you down, sir!" Eva said.

* * *

In the control room, Stan turned to Don Wei, covering his microphone with his hand. "I've heard Toros has never been beaten. Do you seriously believe they have a chance?"

Remus and Don Wei turned to Stan. Don Wei closed his eyes and covered his own microphone as well. "If _I_ don't believe in them, no one will."

Remus turned back to the screen. "You can do it, E," he whispered. "I know you can."

But he hated the uncertainty in his voice.

* * *

The gate dropped. Eva and Toros were off. Eva over took him, but he gained. Jordan turned to guns to face him. "Try the other pedal, Molly, he's gaining."

"Would you like to drive?" she snapped. Then she muttered, "Come on, baby, just a little faster." She pulled ahead.

Toros passed her easily.

"His cruising speed is much greater than the Arrow's," Don Wei said, "you'll have to catch him on the corners."

"Right." Eva cut the next corners as tight as she could. She passed Toros.

* * *

"All systems are normal," Koji said. "She's doing surprisingly well."

"It's still early Koji," Don replied.

Remus grit his teeth. He would never admit it, but he was with Don Wei. He couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety that was attacking him. Toros was a much better racer than Eva was and if he was the one that hurt Hunter… They had passed the Lupanian hanger the other day to get to the opening ceremony of the final selections, and Remus had seen Hunter. Half his leg had been bandaged and the bandages had begun to bleed through.

Remus wasn't sure how Toros had done that, but he didn't want to find out when Eva was racing him.

* * *

They turned a corner.

"This is a Crog, Molly," Don said. "Keep alert and stay clear of the Trident's blades."

Eva pulled ahead of Toros who positioned his ship right behind her. Eva realized what he was going to do. "Uh-oh! Hold on, Jordan, we're going for a roll!"

"Roll it!" Jordan shouted as Toros shot forward. Eva barrel rolled and avoided him, falling into position next to him. She pulled ahead. Toros inched closer.

"He's back!" Jordan said. He started shooting at the Trident.

Eva ducked the Arrow under a fallen rock arch. The Trident passed just below it, the blades cutting into it. The arch crumbled behind the Trident.

"I've got a bad feeling about this Trident!" Jordan said, sounding stressed.

"Molly," Don said over the speaker, "it's too early to pull ahead. Let him take the lead or he'll ram the Arrow 2!"

"I'll try, sir," Eva said. She sounded just as stressed as Jordan. This race was already proving to be tougher than any of the others she'd fought.

Eva ducked to left—Toros followed. She maneuvered to the right—Toros followed again. He was covering her; he wasn't going to allow her to fall behind him. The tip of the Trident rammed the back of the Arrow.

"It's no use! I can't shake him!" Eva said. "But maybe…I can put some distance between us!" She hurriedly punched in the code for the hyperdrive.

* * *

"Molly, what are you doing?" Don shouted.

"She's engaged the hyperdrive!" Stan said.

Remus wasn't sure whether not he liked the idea of the hyperdrive. On one hand, it would put a great amount of distance between her and Toros. On the other hand, Toros was a much better racer than Eva, his ship was faster and (he'd never admit this to Eva, of course) Remus was placing more trust in Don Wei to know what was best in this race than he was Eva.

The Arrow shot forward like a bullet. Don Wei growled and clenched his fists. "This girl will be the death of me." Then he spoke to Eva. "Molly, you're out of the range of his blades! Disengage, now!"

"I can't disengage," she replied. "It's too soon."

"Molly, look out!" Jordan shouted as they pelted toward a section of the track where rock structures were jutting out of the sides.

Remus tensed, clenching his teeth together.

Then they were out in the open. Eva flew through the next few corners. The Arrow was over a river of some sort (it looked man made), and water was spraying up behind them.

"What's their fuel like?" Don asked, closing his eyes.

"Low, but not critical," Koji said. "They'll be okay for a few more seconds."

"They don't have to worry about the Crog," Stan said. "He's way behind them."

Eva punched in the hyperdrive disengage code. "Hyperdrive disengaged, sir."

Don sighed. "Well," he said, sounding vaguely pleased, "I must say I didn't expect you to…fair so well."

Eva's face brightened up. "Jordan! Did you hear that? A complement from Don Wei! We lived to hear it!"

Remus chuckled slightly, but he knew how much that must mean to her.

"Keep up your present pace, and watch your tank levels, the race is far from over," Don said.

"I'd love to see the look on that Crog's face!" Jordan cried happily. The next second, however, Toros' face appeared on the screens in the turret, cockpit and control room.

"Are you finished playing, humans?" he asked.

Remus' heart began to pound. This could not be good. Hurriedly, he picked up an extra headset lying on the chair next to him and put it on.

"It's been amusing watching you struggle with your pathetic ship," Toros continued. "But now I'm bored."

Jordan shrugged. "Well, don't let us keep you," he said, grinning.

"Jordan, no!" Remus shouted.

"Very well," Toros said. He disappeared off the screen. The sirens went off in the cockpit.

"What…?" Jordan said.

"Oh man," Remus said. "Eva, be careful!"

Don turned to look at him, surprised.

"Why did you—?"

Remus stared at the screen horrified. Don turned to look at it. Toros had engaged his own hyperdrive and was zooming down the track, eating up the ground between him and Eva. The Trident's blades glowed white, crackling.

In a split second, it was all over. Eva and Jordan were frozen, half in shock as they're parts of the ship fell away. The Arrow hit the ground—and rolled end over end violently—on opposite sides of the river.

The Trident had cut the Arrow in half like a hot knife through butter.

"No…no way…" Remus breathed. "Eva…"

"Molly, Jordan, can you hear us?" Stan and Koji demanded, working furiously at the communication link when there was no answer.

Don slowly stepped backward until he was leaning against the wall. He covered his face with his hand.

Remus brushed past him as he walked out of the room. Don hesitated a moment, glanced at the screen to see Eva and Jordan climbing out of the rumble, then followed Remus swiftly.

"Where are you going?" Don asked.

"To see if I can borrow someone," Remus called over his shoulder.

"Why did you call Molly 'Eva' again?" Don asked. "Is that her real name? Did she lie when she said it was Molly? What's going on between you two? I know that you're up to something."

Remus stopped. He half turned. "You know what? I hope that one day you _do_ find out what's going on because it should be so obvious to you. A girl named Eva appears at your company's hanger one day wearing a Boarding School uniform and has amazing talent as a Star-racer Pilot? I mean, come on, how dense are you? But right now, I need to go help E."

Don stood staring after him. _What is he trying to say? Molly…her name is Eva…a Boarding School uniform? She couldn't be…no. No! That's ridiculous… _

But was it?

* * *

Remus ran into the Lupanian hanger and straight into Duncan. "Duncan!" he said. "Can I borrow Hunter for a moment? I need to get E!"

"I know," Duncan said gravely. "I was watching your race. Hunter should be well enough to walk a bit. We've been cleaning the wound and using special herbs."

"Magic?" Remus asked as they walked up to Hunter who was resting his head on his paws, looking half-asleep and bored.

"Of a sort," Duncan said. "How do you think he got so big? We don't have giant wolves on Earth, do we?"

"I guess I never really thought about it," Remus admitted as Duncan climbed up onto Hunter's back. Hunter raised his head and tried to look at them. Duncan held out a hand, which Remus took and helped him up onto Hunter's back. Hunter got slowly to his feet.

"Okay, Hunter," Duncan said. "Let's go."

Hunter stretched and trotted out of the hanger, tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Seems better," Remus commented.

"He's limping," Duncan said, "but I think he was so bored just sitting around that he could run and leap for joy and not care if his leg _broken_."

"Sounds about right," Remus said smiling.

Soon they were down by the track. A rescue team had already arrived on the scene and had checked out Eva and Jordan and brought them off the track. Now the team was working on bringing in the two pieces of the Arrow. Eva and Jordan were sitting on the ground, staring at it silently. They looked up when Hunter's shadow fell over them. Hunter leaned down and panted at them, right in their faces. He nudged them. Then he licked Jordan.

"Ah, gross!" Jordan cried. "Dog drool!"

Eva burst out laughing. Hunter lay down on the ground, and Remus leaned over, offering them a hand. "Want a ride?"

Remus took Eva's hand and Duncan took Jordan's and they got the gunner and pilot onto the wolf. Hunter stood up and started walking toward the Earth hanger.

Eva fell silent again.

"You know," Duncan said, "don't dwell on your defeat. Everyone has to lose sometime. Take this experience and learn from it. You'll do better tomorrow, I'm sure of it."

Eva nodded.

* * *

An hour later, the pieces of the Arrow were back in the hanger. "Can it be fixed?" Don Wei asked.

"Well, now we have two ships for the price of one," Stan said, stepping back from the Arrow. "One thing's for certain. You can kiss the hyperdrive goodbye. It's totally shot."

Don didn't look happy.

Koji stepped closer and leaned toward Don. "Ships can always be fixed. It's them I'm worried about."

Eva and Jordan were sitting on a crate, wearing robes, their clothes hanging on a line behind them.

"I've worried about them from the beginning," Don said. Remus looked up from where he was examining the damage to the Arrow, a wrench in hand. He was wearing a pair of green pilot goggles that Eva had found in the market the day they had met Aikka. He looked over at them sadly. "They were showing signs of progress," Don continued. "But now…they've clearly reached their limit."

Remus turned back to the Arrow. He didn't believe that they had reached their limit…but he did believe that they were being pushed to improve far too fast._ If Eva ever finds out I'm starting to agree with Don Wei, she'll kill me…best not let her find out then._

"If only we'd known more about the Trident we could've stopped him," Jordan muttered angrily.

"You did your best," Don said, walking over to them.

Eva hung her head. "Our best wasn't good enough, was it?"

"Every champion must experience the agony of defeat at least once in their professional career. Toros was just too powerful. End of story." Then he walked away.

"Well, that was a nice thing to say," Jordan said.

"He didn't mean a word of it," Eva said, standing up. She started snatching her clothes of the line. "As usual."

Remus sighed. He got up and followed her. "Hey, Eva," he said when she stopped outside her room to open the door. "Don said basically the same thing Duncan did. Why are you so mad?"

"Because with Duncan it at least _sounded_ like he meant it," Eva said. She stepped inside her room and closed the door. "Just go work on the Arrow!"

Remus shook his head. He adjusted the goggles and walked off. He understood what losing the race had cost her and what must be going through her head right now. She could say sorry when she was ready if she wanted to.

* * *

Eva leaned against the door, staring at the floor. "I'm such an idiot," she muttered as she heard Remus footsteps fade away.

She hadn't lied when she'd said that Duncan had sounded like he'd meant what he'd said, but the thing that was making her angriest was that she'd lost and let her father down. She'd told him that she wouldn't let him down, but she had. The only way she could earn her father's love was as the pilot Molly, and that would only happen if she won. Plus, a loss meant that she had less chance of going to Oban and claiming the Ultimate Prize. If the Ultimate Prize really was what she thought it was…

Eva shook her head and got dressed. Then she climbed out the window and carefully made her way down to the ground. She didn't want to have to talk to anyone or tell them where she was going.

The sky was clouding over as Eva wandered passed the hangers. Soon it began to rain. She ran until she came across a hanger that was open. She ducked into the pit and stared at the rain falling.

A giant sneeze behind her got her attention. She turned around. Hunter was staring at her interestedly.

"I didn't know the Lupanian hanger was this close." She walked over and scratched Hunter's chin. His eyes dropped. She glanced over her shoulder at the surrounding hangers and noticed Aikka's beetle in the hanger across from them. "And the Nourasian pit too."

"Hello, there Molly."

Eva looked up at Duncan surprised. She jumped back from Hunter. "Oh! I'm sorry, I was just…it was raining, so I came in here to get out of the rain, and well…"

Duncan smiled. "Relax, Molly," he said. "Don't worry about it."

Hunter growled at Duncan softly.

"I think that he's mad at me for distracting you from petting him," Duncan said.

"I think you're right." Eva started scratching his shin again. Hunter closed his eyes and growled softly with a crooning note. "Is that his way of purring?"

"Yeah, it is. He likes you," Duncan said.

"Doesn't he like everybody?" Eva asked.

"No. He tried to take a bite out of Gerwulf's leg yesterday morning." Duncan walked up to her and started petting Hunter's head. "How is Remus?"

"He's fine," Eva said. "He's sorry about how he treated Lily when she came to see him. He said that he wants to be a family, it's just that he was hurt deeply when his parents died and he had no one to go too."

"Yes," Duncan said seriously. "I thought that might be a problem, too. They'll have to sit down and talk about that some time before they…or rather Remus…can get passed it. But hopefully, they'll be able to."

"Did they talk at all during the final selection opening ceremonies?" Eva asked.

"No, not really," Duncan said frowning. "He seemed to be avoiding it almost, actually." Then he shook his head. "How's your ship?"

"Still in two pieces," Eva said sadly.

"Hhmm…do you need help?" Duncan asked. "I'm sure Bardawulf would be more than happy to help. As would Hemmingway. They're both mechanics."

"Why do you have mechanics?" Eva asked. "You don't have a ship. You've got Hunter."

Duncan raised his arm. Strapped on it was a metal tube with a button on the side and a small air tank on the top with a button on that as well. "They make my weapons. This is so I can shoot that sleeping potion to knock out my opponents. They're working on something else to use for people who are inside a cockpit like you."

Eva nodded, examining the weapon. "That's so cool."

"It is…except for the explosions that are constantly going on in their room. We share rooms here…although we don't use them. It's just a place to put our stuff."

"Why don't you use them?"

"Because Lupanian packs sleep in a huge group to keep each other warm and for protection," Duncan said. "What were you doing out in the rain, anyway?"

"Just…didn't feel like dealing the with team…" Eva said quietly.

"Well, if you ever need to get away from them, you're welcome here as is Remus."

"I'll make sure to tell him that. By the way, is Gerwulf here?"

"No," Duncan said surprised. "Why?"

"He started a fight with Remus yesterday," Eva said. "I was debating whether or not to go and give him a piece of my mind."

"Definitely not," Duncan said. "I will though, you can be sure of that. He's long over stayed his welcome."

_**Chapter preview: Agile Like Aikka** – "Who are you trying to kid?" Remus shouted at Don. Stan, Koji and Jordan fled the pit. "She lost that race because _you_ didn't trust her!"_

"_Drop it, Remus," Don snapped. "You've no idea how important this race is."_

"_Then why don't you tell me? Tell E?" Remus said. "If it's that important than it's definitely her problem too!"_

_Don started up the stairs. "Because I don't trust her. End of story." _

**_SERIOUS QUESTION!_** Should Don find out that Molly is Eva sooner than he did in the show? Or should I follow the show on that? I'm not sure so I'd like some opinions on that.


	12. Agile Like Aikka

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Oban Star-racers.

Thanks for the reviews! And I think I'll take your suggestion about Don, **crazyvegimab**. Of course, he'll have to find out sooner, not believe, yada yada, all that good stuff that he did in the show. Thanks!

Moon and Star 

Ch.12: Agile Like Aikka

When Eva arrived back at the hanger, she was accompanied by Bardawulf and Hemming. Bardawulf was practically skipping and humming a little tune. Hemming looked like the walking dead.

Eva turned to him. "Are you okay? You look like you haven't slept for days."

"I haven't," Hemming replied.

"Why?"

Hemming sighed, his eyes drifting shut then snapping open. "I have a sleeping disorder…two, actually: insomnia and night terrors. So I can't fall asleep and when I do, I wake up so terrified I'll jump off a ten story building to get away."

"What are you so afraid of?" Eva asked surprised.

Hemming shrugged. "Don't know. I can never remember."

"Do you have medication?"

"I did. They stopped working a few days after we got here, though," Hemming said.

"Oh…" They stopped and stared. They were standing outside the Earth Hanger. Bardawulf was eagerly examining the damage to the Arrow.

"Wow, this'll take a while to fix," Bardawulf said brightly. "Awesome!"

Then he dove into Stan's tool chest.

"Hey!" Stan shouted. "Get out of there!" He tackled Bardawulf and began wrestling for the wrench.

"Stan," Eva said, "just let him use the wrench."

"No! It's mine!"

Eva sighed. Jordan walked up to her.

"Hey, Molly, who is that guy?" he asked.

"Bardawulf," Eva said. "One of the Lupanian Team's mechanics. He's here to help. So is Hemming."

"Really?" Koji said hopefully. At Eva's nod, he turned to Stan and Bardawulf. "Bardawulf! Start working on the wires that were damaged by the Trident!"

Bardawulf wiggled free of Stan's grasp and ran to the Arrow. He started working.

"Stan, let him use your tools," Koji said. Stan glared at Koji but got to work.

**-.oOOo.-**

That night, Remus was lying on the roof, staring at the stars. His eyes quickly found Maya Wei's. He stared at it for several minutes, relaxing completely before he vaguely felt an odd mixture of pride and sorrow. Without even thinking, Remus separated the emotions and interpreted them.

Pride at Eva's flying ability and how far she'd gotten.

Sorrow at her family's pain.

That sounded right.

_The Ultimate Prize…any wish, any dream, right?_ Remus thought.

The feelings didn't change, and no voice spoke to him in his head. Remus smiled wryly. _I'm trying to get answers from the stars. I must be crazy._

The feelings disappeared suddenly. Remus sighed. He'd lost the absolute calm that was needed to listen to the stars. He rolled over onto his side, resting his head on his arm. He stared at the roof for several minutes silently. Bardawulf, Hemming, Stan and Koji were still working on the Arrow. It was going to be an all night job. He closed his eyes and fell asleep to the muffled sounds of them working.

Remus wasn't sure how long he'd been sleeping when his eyes drifted open. He was met with the sight of a pair of purple boots. Remus snapped his head up and found himself looking into the red eyes of Maya Wei. She knelt down beside him as he scrambled to his hands and knees.

"Hello, Remus," she said. "It's good see you again."

"Oh no," Remus groaned. "Not you again." He rubbed his face with his hands tiredly. "I'm going crazy…I'm dreaming of dead people…"

"You're not going crazy, trust me," Maya said. "I'm real."

"And…that's supposed to make me feel better?" Remus asked. "First off, do you have any idea how weird it is to be dreaming of your best friend's dead mother?"

"No," Maya said. "I've never done it."

"…You know what… Go away…" Remus mumbled.

"Fine." Maya stood up. "That's all you had to say, you know. Although, you could've said it more nicely."

Remus stood up. "Sorry," he said. "It's just…this is creeping me out, you know? So, if you could maybe stay out of my dreams for a while…that'd be appreciated."

"I don't come into your dreams, Remus," Maya said. "You come to me."

"I…what? What do you mean by that?" Remus asked.

"What I meant was that when you sleep, you can talk to spirits. You enter our plane of existence. And since I'm constantly hanging around here, you just happen to keep running into me," Maya said.

"I see…so…have you seen my parents since we last met?" Remus asked in what he hoped sounded a casual way.

"Yes, I have," Maya said.

Remus leapt forward, grabbing her shoulders. "Where are they?"

Maya gently gripped his wrists and removed his hands from her shoulders. "I don't know. They're not here right now."

"Well, where are they?"

"Believe it or not, I don't stay here all the time. I was just about to leave for awhile when you entered this plane," Maya said.

"Well, where were you going to go?" Remus said impatiently.

"To the 'Kindgom of the Dead,'" Maya replied. "The closest thing to that would be heaven. It's a very beautiful place, despite the name."

"So…so that's where they are? Can you…can you take me there?" Remus asked.

Maya shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. Mortals can't go there."

Remus opened his mouth to speak again when he suddenly awoke with a jolt. He scrambled into a sitting position. Then he sighed and rubbed his temples. "Crazy dreams," he muttered. "Just crazy dreams…"

Then he lay back and fell asleep. When he woke again, it was well into the morning. He was surprised he'd been able to sleep that long without the sun waking him up, but at some point in the night, he'd flung an arm over his eyes, so maybe it wasn't that odd. He got to his feet, climbed into his room through his window and went down to the pit.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva walked along the beach near the hangers, wearing a black shirt with a red circle with a black X, carrying her shoes. She knelt down on a rock by a tide pool and looked up at the sky.

The last race flashed through her mind.

Eva closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them again, she was staring at the tide pool. She saw the picture of her and her father hugging. Eva absently touched her pocket.

"Get yourself together, Eva," she muttered. "Show your father who you really are." Then she ran her hand across the tide pool.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus ran a hand through his hair. "Where's E?" he asked Jordan.

Jordan shrugged. "I don't know. She went for a walk."

Remus looked at the Arrow, which was now back in one piece. "Looking good," he said. Stan and Koji gave him a thumbs up. Bardawulf howled excitedly. Remus shook his head before turning back to Jordan. "When did she leave?"

"A little while ago," Jordan said. "She'll be back soon. Our race starts in an hour."

Remus noticed they were working on the turret. "What are they doing?"

"Upgrading the turret," Jordan said grinning. "Our next opponent is Prince Aikka. I'm gonna knock him outta the sky."

Remus thought Jordan looked a little _too_ happy about that.

"You know E's never gonna let you do that," Remus said.

"She doesn't have a choice," Jordan said. "Don Wei's orders."

"And since when has E ever listened to Don Wei?" Remus asked.

Jordan slumped. "You're right. How could I have forgotten that?" Then he snapped his fingers. "Aikka will be firing on us too! She'll _have_ to let me fire!"

Remus shrugged. "We'll see."

**-.oOOo.-**

As Eva headed toward the hanger, she noticed Aikka standing at the edge of a cliff, loading an arrow onto his bow. He lifted it, said something she didn't understand and the tip of the arrow started to glow blue. He fired at a large rock pillar out in the ocean.

Eva laughed as she walked up to him. "Target practice?" she asked playfully. "You might want to try standing closer."

Aikka glared at her. "My next adversary…is you."

"What?" Eva asked surprised.

Aikka walked away. As he left, a rumbling caught her attention. Eva looked at the rock: it split in half and fell into the ocean.

Eva stared in shock. Then she chased after Aikka.

"Prince Aikka, wait! We were bound to face each other sometime!"

Aikka stopped and turned around. "I've been ordered by my father to, at the start of the race, eliminate you."

Eva gasped. "What? You can't do that! It's against the rules!"

"The rules forbid me to intentionally take your life. Sort of that, I can use any means at my disposal to win," Aikka said. "My mount, G'dar, was injured in the last race. I can no longer take any chances."

Eva looked at the ground. "And I was looking forward to our race. At least with _you_, I wasn't expecting to battle."

"This is _not_ the way of the Nourasian knights," Aikka said. "We have always been a peaceful people. I am truly sorry." Then he bowed to her and turned to leave.

"You expect me to believe that Nourasian knights nonsense?" Eva burst out.

Aikka looked back at her surprised. "Pardon me?"

Eva smiled slightly smugly. "If you're so worried about _my_ cannons, we could have a clean race."

Aikka turned to face her. "A clean race?"

"Yeah. No weapons. A race for speed." Eva walked forward to stand in front of him. "Unless, you're afraid to find out which one of us is really the best pilot."

Aikka growled and took a step forward. Eva took a step back. Then Aikka laughed.

"You speak like a true Nourasian," he said. "I like your offer." Then he muttered, "Though I may risk banishment from my court…" He continued louder, "I agree to not use my arrows if you agree not to use your cannons."

"Agreed," Eva said. She winked at Aikka. "Be prepared to lose with honor, Prince."

"I'm always prepared to lose with honor, Molly," Aikka said. "I suggest you do the same."

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus watched as Eva entered the hanger. Jordan said, grinning, "Hey, Molly, you'll never guess who our next opponent is."

"Aikka. He told me. I've just made a deal with the Prince," Eva said.

Don Wei, who was standing on the rolling staircase, overlooking Bardawulf wielding pieces of the Arrow together, looked over.

"Oh? What _kind_ of deal?" Jordan asked.

"We're going to have a clean race," Eva said. "No weapons allowed."

"What?" Jordan asked, looking a little offended.

"It'll be a clean race for speed. And no one'll get hurt," Eva said.

"Good thing I've got a book in the turret," Jordan grumbled.

"Out of the question," Don said, stepping off the rolling ladder. "We _must_ win this race."

"Sir, the Arrow 2 is fast, not strong," Eva said. "In order to win, we must—"

"Trust the Nourasians?" Don said angrily. "Never! Don't you see? They need this victory as much as we do!"

"But we can trust Aikka!" Eva protested.

"You will neutralize the Prince's mount early in the race. The Arrow 2 has been newly equipped for the job!" he said, gesturing towards where Stan was working on the Arrow.

Stan grinned sheepishly and shrugged. Bardawulf jumped down from the nearest engine and landed gracefully on his feet without pitching forward. He lowered his head, as he looked up at Eva, ashamed. "Sorry," he said softly, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Jordan picked up a strap of ammo, grinning. "Trust me, the pleasure will be all mine."

Eva looked at the ground. "This is exactly what the Prince has been ordered to do."

"What did you say?" Don asked sharply.

"We don't want to fight him," Eva said. "His magic arrows are very powerful." Jordan made a noise of disbelief.

Stan stood up. "The new laser cannons are ready, Mr. Wei."

"That's a job well done, gentlemen," he said. "You can go to bed now." He turned to Bardawulf as Stan and Koji headed up the stairs. "You can go back to your hanger now as well. What happened to your friend?"

Bardawulf pointed over his shoulder at the tarps that had been used to cover the Arrows. Hemming was fast asleep on them.

"He was falling asleep while wielding so I took over for him and told him to get some rest. He's got some sleep disorders and his meds have stopped working so he hasn't gotten much rest over the last few days," Bardawulf explained. "I'll just take him with me, then." He headed over to Hemming and picked the older man up in his arms as easily as if he were child. Then he left the hanger with an apologetic look to Eva.

Don turned back to Eva. "If he's as good as you say, we must strike first." He turned and started to walk away.

Jordan placed a hand on Eva's shoulder. "Partner, you must be dreaming if you think the Prince is going to keep his promise."

"If you can't trust the Nourasians, you could at least trust me!" Eva shouted.

Don stopped and half-turned to look at her. "I did during the last race. I won't make that same mistake again." He left the hanger.

Eva's eyes widened. Remus winced. "Ouch," he muttered. "That was harsh."

Eva growled and shouted, "You'll regret this! You'll see!"

Jordan just smiled and chuckled. Remus narrowed his eyes at him and stepped forward to stand next to Eva. "I trust you."

Eva closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva watched as Prince Aikka flew into the arena on G'dar and landed beside her. He looked over and smiled. Eva took a deep breath and opened the communication link between her and Jordan. "Jordan, please listen to me," she pleaded, "if you hit the Prince, you'll hurt him and if you miss, he'll probably hurt us. Is that really what you want?"

Jordan pulled on his glove as he replied, "I'm just following orders, Molly, like you should be."

"We don't need to do this, Jordan," Eva tried again. "We can win this race without weapons. …We're partners, remember?"

"Sorry, Molly," Jordan said angrily, "but I took the sucker punch in the last race. Crogs won, Earth Team zero." Jordan crossed his arms. "I'm sticking to the plan."

"Idiot!" Eva snapped.

In one last ditch effort, Eva opened the channel to the control room. "Please, sir, we can't do this!"

"We _can_ do this, Molly, and we will," Don said, looking annoyed. "Just concentrate on the race. And take him out early."

Eva growled, but didn't have a chance to respond. The gong sounded; the Arrow rose into the air, G'dar spread his wings and the gate dropped. Immediately, Jordan locked onto Aikka. Eva heard the sound of the cannons locking on target. She gasped; Aikka looked back and grit his teeth. She saw him start to load an arrow.

Then she barrow rolled to fly on the opposite side of Aikka. Aikka lowered his bow and smiled.

"Molly!" Jordan shouted. "What are you doing? You're leaving us totally unprotected!" He switched the guns to the other side.

Eva smiled triumphantly. She hit a button, and the turret shut down. Jordan was trapped inside.

"Molly, what's going on?" Then his eyes widened. "You trapped me in here! Have you lost your mind? Get me out of here!"

"Molly, what on earth are you doing?" Don Wei shouted.

"I intend to win this race—the _honorable_ way." Then she cut the transmission.

**-.oOOo.-**

"MOLLY!" Don shouted.

Remus smirked. "Heh. Go, E."

Don round on him furiously. "Did you know she was going to do this?"

"No," Remus said with a shrug. "But it's fine by me." He gave Don a thumbs up and ran out of the control room. _Time to go to the stands…I wonder if anyone from the Lupanian Team will be there._

**-.oOOo.-**

"The Don Wei that was once my father would understand," Eva said as she sped up the Arrow.

Aikka glanced over his shoulder. "Hurry, G'dar, the Earth _princess_ is on our tail."

Eva pulled up beside him. They looked at each other and smiled. For the first time, Eva was having _fun_ in a race. She wished she could do this more often.

They flew through a tunnel; there were poles all across it. They flew back and forth, and Eva performed a rolling maneuver to dodge them. They left the tunnel.

"Nice move, Princess," Aikka said, grinning.

There were more obstacles in their way. They flew higher, lower, rolled and moved from one side of the track to another, looking like a pendulum. Eva fell behind Aikka, who looked back to smile at her.

"Nice moves, Prince," Eva said. She sped up the Arrow again.

**-.oOOo.-**

"Somebody get me out of here!" Jordan pleaded.

Don turned to Koji who was typing furiously on the computer. "Any progress?"

"No, sir," Koji replied. "The closing of the turret is an emergency command."

Stan turned to Don. "There's no outside override."

Don growled. "What can she be thinking?"

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus stood at the top of the stands, watching the screen eagerly. "Go, Eva!" he cheered.

"Eva? Whose Eva?"

Remus looked to the left to see Lily walking up with Duncan. "Hey," Remus said brightly. "Eva's the Earth Team pilot, but everyone else thinks her name is Molly. It's a bit of a long story…well, not really, I can cut it down to the bare bones and that'll take about thirty seconds to relate, but, uh, it's really not my story to tell."

Lily blinked. "Um…okay."

"Uh…" Remus looked away for a moment. "Um…by the way…about…about earlier…when you came to see me… I'm sorry. I…I didn't mean to…to act like that…and…"

Lily smiled. "I get it, Remus. It's okay. I'd…probably do that same thing if I were in your place."

Remus smiled slight in relief. "I'd…well…I mean if it's okay…I'd…kinda like…to join your pack…? I mean…if it's alright, I mean…wouldn't want to…wouldn't want to…"

This time Duncan smiled and gave Remus a thumbs up. "No problem." He laid a hand on Remus' shoulder. "We'd be glad to have you."

"Thanks," Remus said. Then he turned his attention back to the race. "Go, E!"

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva sped passed Aikka, taking a huge lead. "Sorry, Prince, I guess I'm just to fast for you." Then she looked back in surprise. The symbols that decorated G'dar's shell were glowing a brilliant blue, and he was speeding up considerably. He caught up to the Arrow 2 in no time. Aikka waved and smiled at Eva's shocked look. Then he flew ahead.

Eva gained a determined look and shot after him.

**-.oOOo.-**

"He's gaining on her! What about the turret!" Don asked.

"We're in the security system!" Koji said.

Stan turned to him. "Try to open the turret doors, while I shut down Molly's access."

Don smirked.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus suddenly had a bad feeling…a very bad feeling. He turned to Duncan and Lily. "Sorry," he said, "but I've gotta go check up on things in the control room. I just wanted to come down here and see what it was like watching from the stands for a little bit. But I'll see you later, okay?"

"Sure," Lily said. Duncan, on the other hand, didn't look like he completely believed Remus. He didn't say anything, however.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva and Aikka came out of a tunnel into a canyon. They dodged rocks jutting up from the ground and out from the sides of the canyon walls. Aikka's eyes widened as he saw two rocks crisscrossing in the middle of canyon. It was too high to fly over and low enough that G'dar just might hit it…

G'dar closed his wings and dropped suddenly. Then he opened them again and flew under the rocks. Eva gasped and tried to drop, but she could drop fast enough. One of the engines hit the side of the rocks.

Aikka looked back. Eva grinned. "Don't worry, Prince, I'm right behind ya."

**-.oOOo.-**

Jordan rubbed the back of his head.

"Jordan," Don Wei said, "we're getting you out of there. You know what you have to do."

"Oh boy, do I!" Jordan said excitedly.

The connection was back on, and they could see the race again. Eva and Aikka were in the last stretch. Aikka was ahead, but Eva caught up quickly.

"They've almost reached the finish line," Stan said. "You sure you want to do this?"

"We're going to win this race _my_ way," Don said angrily as Remus ran into the room, "and we'll teach this mutineer a lesson she'll never forget!"

Stan narrowed his eyes uncertainly…and pressed the button to open the turret.

"NO!" Remus shouted, jumping forward. But the damage was done. Jordan opened the turret, locking on. There was nothing Remus could do. He watched the screen, teeth clenched, eyes wide.

**-.oOOo.-**

"I knew we'd win," Eva muttered. Then she heard a beep and saw the turret was back online. "Jordan, stop it!"

Jordan locked on. "NO!" Eva shouted. Jordan fired just as she banked the Arrow to the left, turning it on its side. The laser fire missed G'dar by inches. Aikka grabbed an arrow. The Whizzing Arrow had pulled ahead, but he said the incantation and his arrow glowed blue. He fired and the arrow hit the engine. Eva cried out as the Arrow crashed to the ground.

**-.oOOo.-**

The control room was completely silent. Everyone was staring at the screen in shock. Remus clenched his fist and snarled. "Do you see what you've done?" he asked Don, narrowing his eyes to slits. His anger was barely restrained.

Don snapped out of his shock and turned to Remus. "And just what have I done? If she had taken the Prince out at the beginning of the race, this wouldn't have happened."

Remus' eyes went wide. He lunged, grabbing Don by the collar and slamming him against the wall. "THIS IS _HER_ FAULT? YOU MORON! SHE WAS RIGHT! SHE WAS _RIGHT!_ SHE WAS WINNING! SHE WOULD'VE WON IF YOU HADN'T DONE THAT! YOU _MORON!_ HOW _DARE_ YOU BLAME HER? I'M GOING TO _KILL_ YOU!"

Stan and Koji jumped forward, wrapping their arms around Remus torso and wrenching him backward. "Remus, calm down! Don't do something you'll regret," Koji pleaded.

"Regret?! _Regret?!_ THE ONLY THING I'LL _REGRET _IS NOT DOING THIS SOONER!" Remus shouted. "I'm going to rip you limb from limb!"

"Remus, please, just think about this," Koji pleaded as he was nearly thrown off by Remus wrenching himself around.

"Remus, do you think Molly would want you to do this?" Stan said, not doubting for a second that Remus would really do what he threatened. That seemed to hit a trigger. "I know Molly wouldn't want you to become a murderer over this."

"It would solve most of her problems," Remus spat bitterly. He glared at Don so hatefully that he half expected him to drop dead on the spot. "She broke out to find you, you know. She waited all night for your call…you left her for ten years; I think the least you owe her is your trust. You had hers until she met you and found out what a complete jerk you are."

Then Remus wrenched himself free and stalked from the room.

"Sir…" Koji asked hesitantly. "What was he talking about?"

Don stood staring at the door for several seconds before he processed Koji's question. He shook himself. "Nothing. I don't know what he was talking about," he said. Then he left.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva opened the cockpit and looked up at the sound of beating wings. Aikka had come back and was glaring down at her. "I thought humans had honor, but now I can see they have none." He looked away.

Eva stood up. "But I can explain!" Then she coughed as Aikka turned G'dar around causing smoking and sand to billow around her. Aikka flew off. "Prince Aikka, wait! Come back!"

She heard someone kicking the Arrow and looked over the edge to see Jordan kick open the turret entrance. He exited the Arrow and slumped down on the ground, rubbing his side. She jumped down from the cockpit and spun to face him.

"Why?" she demanded angrily. "Why did you have to ruin everything?"

Jordan got to his feet and shot back, "You trusted the Prince more than me, _partner._"

Eva growled. "You idiot!" She shoved him hard.

"Hey, don't push me!" Jordan went to push her back. Eva side-stepped, and he fell to the ground.

"I trusted you," Eva said, angry and hurt. "And you let me down." Jordan looked up at her, surprised. She was glaring down at him with tears in her eyes. She growled again and walked away.

"Molly," Jordan said, getting to his feet. He watched her walk away, ignoring him. Anger grew inside him and he viciously kicked the sand. "All you had to do was follow orders!"

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva stormed into the hanger, completely ignoring Don Wei as he said, "I hope your proud of yourself." She stared up the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady? Didn't your father teach you any manners?"

That made Eva stop. "No, he didn't," she snarled. "I'm going to my room, and I'm _never_ coming out!"

Remus watched as Jordan entered the hanger, looking uncertain about what to do and whose side to take. It wasn't hard for Remus…but this was gunner-boy's test, not his.

"Do you think I'm going to let you off that easily? Today was a sure win. We lost because _you_ didn't stick to the plan," Don said furiously as Eva continued up the stairs and out of the pit. "Come back here, young lady! Do you hear me?" He started to take a step up the stairs, but Jordan laid a hand on his arm.

"Sir, calm down," Jordan said, trying to appease Don. "You know, Molly really want to win that race." _He's redeemable if Eva says so,_ Remus decided.

But Don growled and ripped his arm out of Jordan's grasp. "So you're against me, too?" Don shouted. "Is that it?"

"Sir," Jordan said surprised and confused, "of course not."

"Do any of you have any idea just how serious my responsibilities are? Do you?" Don demanded, looking at Stan, Koji and Remus. Remus just glared at him. Don took a deep breath and said, "I didn't think so."

Don turned and walked up the stairs to the door leading out of the pit. He had opened the door to his office when a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned around to meet the gaze of an angry Remus.

"What do you want?" Don asked irritably.

It was silent a moment before Remus said, "I don't _care_ what sort of problems you have, Don. Personally, I could care less if you jumped off a bridge right now. I'd show you where the nearest one is myself. However, this isn't about me. This is about E. Whatever sort of problems you have, you learn to deal with them instead of taking them out on E. Because next time, I swear you die." Remus narrowed his eyes. "And that's not a threat, that's a promise. Lupanians treasure family above all else, whether related by blood or not. We take 'no man left behind' very seriously. So seriously, in fact, to the point where we'll die with them instead of leaving them. E is like my sister, so I suggest you tread cautiously. You mess with a member of a pack, you mess with the whole pack. And since you're not Lupanian and have no one but gunner-boy and two mechanics to save your sorry hide, you're as good as dead if I so decide." Then he added, "But then again, what do _you_ know about family ties? You gave up your daughter without a thought."

"How would you know that?" Don asked. "How do you know I even have a daughter?"

"Oh, please, are you really that thick? This has gone on long enough," Remus said. "E is Eva, your daughter."

"I don't believe you," Don said. "I don't know how you found out about Eva, but she's safe at Boarding School."

"Oh, really? I suggest you check with them then because I guarantee you they'll tell you differently."

Don pushed Remus hand off his shoulder. "I've had enough of this, Remus," he said. "Leave."

Remus glared at him for a moment then left.

Don entered his office and closed the door. He took several deep breaths and let them out slowly. Then he went to contact the president. This wasn't going to go well. And after that, he needed to go find someone.

**-.oOOo.-**

Rick was sitting at a bar. Someone sat down beside him, and he pulled a stone out of his trench coat pocket with a strange symbol on it. "You ever seen this symbol?" Then he smiled sardonically and said, "Let me guess, you've never seen it, don't want to help, you can just forget about it." He put the stone away.

"I'm sorry, Rick, I've never seen that symbol before."

Rick looked up to see Don Wei sitting beside him. "What do you want from me, Don?"

"I just came down to say hello," Don said. "What's wrong with that? Why do you think I want something?"

"Because the Earth Team just lost two races in a row," Rick said. "And because I know you only too well."

Don smirked.

The shrub took Rick's cup. "I'll have what my friend is having," Don said.

"Two Ofish sodas coming right up," the bartender said. He set about making them. A moment later he turned back around and placed them in front of Rick and Don.

Don looked at it shocked. There was a _fish_ in his drink.

"Well, bottom's up," Rick said and drank it in one gulp.

Don looked back down at his drink. The fish _moved_. Don steeled himself, raised the drink and swallowed.

_**Chapter preview: Surprising Like Super-racer – **"Schools in session, Little Mouse," Rick said. "I'm your new coach." _

_Remus popped in from the hallway and looked inside. "Oh! Can I join?" _

"_Sure," Rick said. "Why not? You can help me whip the Little Mouse into shape."_

"_Yes!" Remus said. "This is gonna be _so_ cool!"_

"_Remus, whose side are you on?" Eva demanded. _

_Remus looked between Eva and Rick silently. "Hhmm…He's bigger, stronger and trying to help you which Don hasn't done, so…I'm with him."_

_Eva growled at him. _

"_Oh come on, E," Remus said. "This self-induced exile can't last forever. Besides, what better why to get back at Don then to be a great pilot who doesn't need his coaching? Then you can win each race _your_ way. Think about it." _

_Eva did. She thought about. Then she promptly told them both to get out of her room. Rick and Remus looked at each other…and smiled. Eva suddenly became very nervous. _This isn't going to end well,_ she thought. _

Thanks for reading! Please review! Come on, six reviews would give this chapter more reviews than any other. Come on…lookin' for six reviews…six reviews…anybody taking? Eh…gives up See ya next chapter!


	13. Surprising Like Superracer

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Oban Star-racers. I wish I did though. That would be so cool.

Thanks for your reviews everybody! I appreciate it, I really do!

Moon and Star

Ch.13: Surprising Like Super-racer

The next morning, Don Wei stood in his office, staring out at Alwas through the gaps in the blinds. His talk with the president hadn't gone well, and he still needed to speak with Molly. He was looking forward to that even less than he had with the president. Anger and frustration were sure to follow; not only that, but he had Remus' threat hanging over his head.

Don sighed and rubbed his temples. A headstrong, hormonally unbalanced teenage girl was bad enough without adding a hormonally unbalanced (possibly mentally unstable) teenage Lupanian boy.

Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Don turned to face the door. Involuntarily, his eyes landed on the small, locked box on his desk.

"_E is Eva, your daughter."_

"_I don't believe you. I don't know how you found out about Eva, but she's safe at Boarding School."_

"_Oh, really? I suggest you check with them then because I guarantee you they'll tell you differently."_

Don's gaze moved from the box to the communication computer.

"_I guarantee you they'll tell you differently."_

Don stared for a moment longer before leaving the room. His day seemed destined to go from bad to worse. As he passed Remus' room who should come out but Remus himself?

Don paused. Remus was wearing an off white shirt and pants with sandy-brown trim that were loose on him but not hanging off him. While his clothes looked nice, Remus himself looked horrible. He was pale, there were bags under his eyes and his hair (which was normally nice and neat and combed down over his ears in a style that Molly had once referred to as 'almost emo' (whatever 'emo' was)) was devilish and sticking up at odd angles. His ears were pointed, and his canine teeth and nails were sharper than normal. He was slumped over.

"Are you alright, Remus?" Don asked.

Remus looked up at him blearily. He mumbled something that sounded like 'ima fe,' rubbed his eyes and walked away.

Don opened Remus' bedroom door and peeked inside. There were huge rips in Remus' sheets and claws clearly made gashes in the wall next to the bed. Whatever Remus had dreamed about, it had terrified him.

Don closed the door and continued on towards Molly's room. He went to knock on her door…hesitated…then knocked.

"Go away!"

Don growled, but forced himself to calm down. "Molly, I know we've had our differences of opinions—especially in the last race—but we've come to a crucial point in the final selections, and we must put the team first." Don paused. "I think now's a good time to get together and talk things over."

"No! Now's a good time to stay in my room!" Molly shouted through the door.

Don growled. "Time for plan B then," he said as he walked off.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva sat on her bed, drawing in her sketchbook. The current pages were covered with pictures of Don Wei shouting. "All you do is take, Don Wei. You give zero. You don't deserve a loving daughter like me. And I don't deserve a father like _you!_" She viciously scribbled out Don's picture.

The door opened. She chucked the book at the person. "I said get lost!"

Rick Thunderbolt caught the book before it hit his head. He looked at the pictures, surprised.

"Oh, Rick…I thought you were…" Eva trailed off.

Rick closed the book. "Yeah, I know who you _thought_ I was. Get dressed, Little Mouse. School's in session. I'm your new coach."

Remus popped in from the hallway and looked inside. "Oh! Can I join?"

"Sure," Rick said. "Why not? You can help me whip the Little Mouse into shape."

"Yes!" Remus said. "This is gonna be so cool!"

"Remus, whose side are you on?" Eva demanded.

Remus looked between Eva and Rick silently. "Hhmm…He's bigger, stronger and trying to help you which Don hasn't done, so…I'm with him."

Eva growled at him.

"Oh come on, E," Remus said. "This self-induced exile can't last forever. Besides, what better why to get back at Don then to be a great pilot who doesn't need his coaching? Then you can win each race your way. Think about it."

Eva did. She thought about. Then she promptly told them both to get out of her room. Rick and Remus looked at each other…and smiled. Eva suddenly became very nervous. _This isn't going to end well,_ she thought.

"Fine," she said. "But you'll have to get out of my room so I can change."

"We'll be waiting outside," Rick said. They stepped out into the hallway and closed the door.

Eva quickly got dressed and started to climb out the window.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus knelt with his ear against the door. "She's climbing out the window…now."

Rick opened the door causing Remus to topple over. Eva looked around, surprised, just in time for Rick to grab her and place her over his shoulder.

"Put me down! Put—me—down!" Eva shouted, kicking and trying to grab the sides of her door. She caught sight of Remus. "You traitor! Just wait till I get my hands on you!"

Rick carried her out of the hanger as though nothing where happening.

"Help! I'm being hijacked! Help!"

Jordan entered the pit, confused. "Uh…what's going on?" He stood beside Remus who looked highly amused as he leaned against the railing, watching Eva and Rick.

Don Wei came up behind them, chuckling. "It's the long delayed taming of the shrew." He, Jordan and Remus watched Rick walk out of the hanger.

Remus straightened up. "Okay, now I can go join them."

"Why couldn't you go before?" Jordan asked.

"I'm trying to stay as far out of E's reach as possible," Remus said. "I'm afraid she might strangle me." Then he slid down the railing, landing on the pit floor clumsily and ran out of the hanger.

"Why do _they_ get to have all the fun?" Jordan asked, slightly put out.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva was running after Rick who was on her rocket seat. Remus was running beside Rick steadily, seemingly _enjoying_ the exercise. That annoyed Eva even more since she _wasn't_ enjoying this and was having a _hard_ time keeping up with Rick, not to mention she was still mad at both of them for forcing her to do this, Jordan for not trusting her and her father…well, she could list a hundred reasons and more about why she was furious with him. Why was she even here? What had made her think following her father here was a good idea? She wished she was back at the Stern Boarding School, still oblivious to the fact that her father didn't care about her and still living in the illusion that he was simply to busy to call and not that he had probably forget she existed.

"In case you haven't noticed our next race isn't a marathon!" she shouted.

Rick glanced over his shoulder at her before putting on a burst of speed, forcing Eva and Remus to run faster. "What's the big idea about refusing to race?"

"I never came here to race!" Eva said. "And the team never trusted me anyways…" Her _father_ had never trusted her.

"Trust you?" Rick said. "_I'll_ be the judge of that!" Then he sped up a bit. "Pick up the pace, slow poke!"

**-.oOOo.-**

Jordan watched as Eva caught up to Remus and Rick. She reached out, trying to wrap her hands around Remus' throat. Remus shouted in surprise and sprinted out of her reach. She flew after him, leaving Rick behind.

"Rick, help me!"

"Oh no you don't! You're not getting away from me, Remus! I'll get you for this!"

"RICK! AW! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! RIIIIIIICK!"

Rick sped up and pulled Eva away from Remus. Then he grabbed Remus' arm and dragged him along as he put on a burst of speed.

"Oh great," Jordan said. "They're bonding. Whatever."

**-.oOOo.-**

Jordan walked through the Scrub village angrily. One Scrub came up to him, holding a pale blue dress. "Look at this dress! It's _made_ for you!"

"Get lost! I'm trying to be sad!" Jordan shouted. The Scrub ran away. Jordan started to walk away.

"Well, hello there." Jordan stopped and turned around. "Well, if it isn't my good friend Jordan." Setis looked around. "You're not training with your partner?"

"What partner?" Jordan almost snapped. "You think I've got a partner?" He started to walk away.

"I sure hope your team recovers from its two crushing defeats."

Jordan looked up and jumped back at seeing Setis standing on a barrel in front of him. He looked behind him. "How'd you…?"

Setis leaned closer to Jordan. "I've heard the name of your next adversary. He's one of the best in the competition and very aptly named," Setis whispered. Then he shouted, "Super-racer!"

Jordan held up his hands in defeat. "Well, my bags are packed. With three defeats under our belt we can go home early." He started to walk away, but Setis followed him, walking along the line of barrels.

"Hey, Super-racer's nothing to make fun of; I've seen him race. He's fearless."

Jordan stopped, catching sight of something at the end of the road. Aikka was there, wearing a red cape and armor. A collar was popped up, hiding half his face, but there was no mistaking it was him.

"Aikka," Jordan muttered.

"Oh yes, he's a living legend, that Super-racer," Setis continued. "Unbeatable!"

"This is all _your_ fault," Jordan said, his gave still fixed on Aikka.

"What's my fault?" Setis asked.

But Jordan ignored him as he ran off in the direction Aikka had disappeared in.

"Humans are so unpredictable," Setis said, watching Jordan run away. "And so rude too."

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva stopped running and leaned over, resting her hands on her knees. Rick looked up from the stopwatch. "Not bad," he said. Then he smirked. "For a girl."

Eva looked at him, surprised and angry.

"Go around again," he said. Remus was sitting next to him, munching on an apple.

"Again?" she shouted. "I've been running around that stupid pool for hours!"

"I said again," Rick said.

"Fine," Eva said angrily. "But only if Remus runs with me."

Remus stood up. "Can do." He handed his half-eaten apple to a surprised Rick.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don Wei watched from nearby as Remus walked over to Molly and stretched. "Okay, you ready for this, E?" Remus asked.

"For what?"

"For me to kick your butt," Remus said confidently. "I'm going to leave you in my dust!"

Molly's eyes became alight at the challenge in a way that was all too familiar. It was the same way Maya's eyes lit up before a race: full of confidence and anticipation.

"Rick, count for us," she said. She and Remus both got ready to run.

"Alright," Rick said. "Ready…set…go!"

Molly and Remus took off, neck and neck.

_Remus is so confident that she's Eva. How would he even know about her unless she was? I've never said anything…but then, it wouldn't be entirely impossible for him to have out another way. What would Eva even be doing here? How could she have gotten out of boarding school? She can't be Eva. She can't be._

Then he remember when he'd discovered she'd been taken with them to Alwas. She'd tried to tell him something, but Jordan had cut her off.

"It's okay, really! I'm your—" 

"_Is there a problem, sir?"_

Don closed his eyes. He hoped that the end of that sentence hadn't been going to be 'daughter.' Especially after yesterday. He knew that Molly hated him, but he didn't care as long as she listened to him and won the races. But if _Eva_ hated him…

Don sighed and opened his eyes. Remus and Molly were drawing closer to where Rick was sitting. Don could see a mischievous gleam and a plan forming in her eyes. That was also all too familiar; it was the same amused, vengeful look that Maya got when she was about to get back at someone and that he'd once been on the wrong end of after first becoming her manager. It had gotten him covered with a bucket of green food dye, glue and feathers. He'd made sure never to cross her like that again. Luckily, that part of her personality had been tempered when she'd had Eva. She hadn't wanted to be a bad influence.

Molly and Remus were almost back to their starting point. Remus was ready to make a last sprint—Molly stuck out her foot and tripped Remus. He went down hard. She passed Rick who hit the stop button on the stopwatch. He glanced down at it.

"Now we're talkin'!" Rick said.

Remus got to his knees and hissed in pain as his hands stung. Molly walked back to him and held out a hand for him to take. Remus wiped the back of a hand across his mouth and then took her hand. Molly helped him to his feet. Don could tell, though, by the look in her eyes that she hadn't enacted her full revenge.

Rick stood up. "Come on, Little Mouse. Time for the next exercise." They headed away from the hangers. Don turned and walked back into the Earth Hanger. He still wasn't sure whether or not he believed Remus (or rather…whether or not he _wanted_ to believe Remus) but he had come to one conclusion: if Molly really _was_ Eva, then Maya had clearly failed at not being a bad influence.

**-.oOOo.-**

Jordan looked around for Prince Aikka. "Don't you even think of disappearing," he said. He turned around and ducked into an alley. He went far enough that he couldn't see the street he came from anymore before spotting Aikka. He was talking with someone…

"Colonel Toros," Jordan said, hiding behind a pillar.

"What is it you were so desperate to speak to me about, Toros?" Aikka asked.

"I was just worried that my young alley had become soft," Toros said.

"So the rumors are true," Jordan muttered. "Prince Aikka _is_ in the Crogs pocket." Then he noticed a ladder next to him. He climbed up onto the a walkway behind some buildings and laid down on a bridge connecting either side of the alleyway to the other.

"Be ready to answer the call of the Crogs…whenever it should come," Toros said, and then he left.

"Call of the Crogs," Jordan muttered. "If only Molly could hear this."

He followed Aikka out of the alleyway and jumped down onto the ground behind him. "Hey, Aikka, I've got some unsettled business with you."

"Oh?" Aikka asked. "Breaking your word wasn't enough? Now you have to spy?"

"Stay away from Molly," Jordan ordered.

"Oh? Says who? Her guardian?" Aikka asked defensively.

"Her partner." Jordan threw several punches at Aikka which the Prince easily dodged. Aikka jumped back and threw off his cape. He assumed a fighting stance.

"You know I've been wanting to do this for a long time," Jordan said, smiling confidently.

Aikka smirked.

They stood there for a minute, just staring at each other…then Aikka jumped up into the air, and Jordan threw a punch.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva hit the water. She resurfaced looking as angry as she had that morning. Getting back at Remus a bit had made her feel slightly better, but that had quickly worn off.

"That was pathetic," Rick said annoyed. "Try again!"

"Fine, but this is the last time," Eva snapped. She swam back to the first tall pole and used the pieces of wood sticking out of it to climb up to the top.

"In order to achieve perfect balance, you must first become one living entity with the pole," Rick said.

"Whatever," Eva muttered. Then she jumped from the pole to the next one. She lost her balance, but managed to stay on for a moment before falling.

Rick sighed. "I had a feeling control wasn't your strong suit." He stood up. "Alright…let's try an easy one." He turned to leave.

Eva looked at the five poles. "This is gonna hurt." She climbed back up and stood there, eyes closed. She took a deep breath and let it out. A feeling of calm came over her. _Is this what Rick was talking about…? This is what Remus tried to teach me so I could talk to the stars… It's meditation…_

She remembered everything Remus had taught her. She concentrated on her breathing. In…out…in…out… She opened her eyes and jumped from pole to pole. She hesitated on the fourth one—the fifth was taller—then jumped. She almost lost her balance…then she regained it, standing perfectly still.

"Yeah! There you go, E!" Remus cheered, punching the air.

Eva gave Rick a thumbs up. "What's next?"

"Nothing," Rick said. "You're finished for today. Come on down."

Eva jumped off into the water and swam the short distance to the dock. Remus and Rick pulled her up out of the water. She stood up and began wringing her hair.

"Molly," Rick said seriously, "you've got good technique, good speed and _great_ reflexes. Why aren't you doing better?"

Eva closed her eyes, remembering her father's comment about not letting a girl sacrifice them self for the team, clearly showing his mistrust in her…in female pilots. That thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. _What a joke,_ she thought. She didn't want to get into her problems with Rick. "I'm doing the best I can. I'm just a _girl_, remember?"

"Don't play that game with me," Rick said. "You're a Star-racer pilot, a pilot for the Earth Team. What's holding you back?"

Her mother's crash flashed in front of her eyes. "Nothing's holding me back."

"You know, it's motivation that gets you across the finish line," Rick said. "Why did you join the team in the first place?"

Eva remembered her father almost leaving her behind on Earth, his anger when he discovered her on the Avatar's ship and after she beat Groor. She didn't say anything.

"Okay, then, Molly, why do you race?"

She remembered when she was little. She had run up to her father and he had picked her up and hugged her… Eva looked away. "I do it for my father."

"Finally, we're getting somewhere," Rick said. "I'm sure back on Earth he thinks about you everyday."

"He has no idea how much I do for him," Eva said quietly. "I think coming here was a big mistake."

"Look, it's no mistake you're here," Rick said. "Without you the Earth Team would be finished." Eva looked up at him. "Anyway, this race is the greatest there is! Isn't that worth giving it your best shot?"

Eva was silent a moment before nodding.

"Then quite slacking off," Rick said with a smile.

Eva smiled back slightly, a determined look coming to her eyes.

"Notice how he says nothing about _me_ being useful," Remus said suddenly, smiling playfully.

Rick shrugged. "I don't know you that well. You're supposed to be a mechanic, but from what I hear, you just sit around all day." Then he smiled. "But I've also heard you're a good cook and you're crazy enough to keep everyday interesting." As they started back to the hanger, Rick turned to Remus again. "Now…about your former boss's hamster…"

"Don't worry. I put it in the microwave, yes, but I didn't actually turn the microwave on," Remus said. Then he grinned. "My boss came in before I could."

Rick and Eva exchanged glances before stepping back from Remus.

Remus shrugged. "Anyway, about me sitting around all day…that's only because Stan and Koji don't trust me not to blow something up."

Rick and Eva looked at each other again. "I'm not sure I'd trust him with a Star-racer, either."

Eva nodded.

**-.oOOo.-**

When they arrived back at the hanger, they stopped and looked at the Whizzing Arrow 2. It was starting to look a little worse for the wear, especially on the left reactor.

"What this ship needs is a little TLC," Rick said. He looked to the right and saw a shelf stocked with spray paint. "Why don't you see what you can do? It might even improve your spirits."

"Are you sure?" Eva asked.

"Sure, I'm sure," Rick said, ruffling her hair. Then he started up the stairs in the pit toward the living quarters. "Just think of it as your last training exercise for today."

He left the pit.

Eva grinned and chuckled. She grabbed a can of pink paint and shook it. "Yeah," she said brightly. "Here goes nothing."

"What are you going to do?" Remus asked. "Will it tick off Don, and, if so, can I help?"

"I'm going to paint a giant, angry rabbit's head on the left reactor, probably but I could care less, and what do you have in mind?" Eva answered, grabbing the rolling stepladder and pushing it over to the left reactor. She got up onto the Arrow, and Remus grabbed a white paint can, took the ladder and climbed up onto the other right reactor.

"Well…I was thinking maybe a crescent moon and a star or two on the right reactor," Remus said.

"Why?"

"Um…I don't know," Remus said, feeling put on the spot. "Because your mother had a crescent moon and you have a star, so I thought…maybe…you look up to your mother and well…if I had to hazard a guess…I'd say you're turning out a lot like her and…you got your flying talent from her…well, I mean, if you don't like it…"

"No, Remus, it's great," she said. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Remus said. Then he hesitated. "Do you have a picture of your mother? I know you've got one of your dad and you, but you've never said anything about having one of your mother, and I've never seen you with one."

"That's because I don't," Eva said. "My dad does though. He's got one of my, my mom and him in his office." She clenched her fists. "He's got a picture of me, and he _still_ can't recognize me!"

"Well…you're five or so in that picture, right?" Remus asked. He flinched when she glared at him. "Maybe he just can't connect the five-year-old to the…fifteen-year-old…okay, how obvious is it that I'm losing motive and ways to defend him?"

"Very," Eva said angrily. "Why do you even try?"

"For you," Remus said. "I do it for you so maybe things won't look so bad. So that you'll have hope that you'll get your father back one day soon."

Eva's face softened. "Thanks for trying, Remus."

"No problem," Remus said. "Although, we should fix that problem of you not having a picture of your mother."

"I don't know how we're going to do that," Eva said. "It's not like I can go and ask Don Wei for one."

"No, but if he's got old racing magazines," Remus said, "we could sneak into his office and grab a couple to search for articles on your mom."

Eva looked over at Remus. "Now, there's an idea," she said. "You could go into his office and see if he's got any during the race. He won't be there so you'll have no problems. …Wait. Why don't we just ask Rick if he's got any?"

Remus smiled slyly. "Because that's just not as fun. Now as for the race, I could go see if he's there now."

Eva shrugged. "If you want. But where else would he be at the moment?"

"Talking to Rick, maybe," Remus said. "Or Jordan or Stan or Koji. Or, maybe," Remus continued, lowering his voice to a whisper, "he's gotten a life and is out exploring Alwas."

Eva stared at Remus for a moment. "How sad is it that I can't picture him anywhere other than in the hanger?"

"Very," Remus said. "Though through no fault of your own." He hopped off the reactor and ran up the stairs. "Be back in a minute," he called over his shoulder as he exited the pit.

As he headed toward the elevator that went directly into Don Wei's office, he heard voices. Poking his head around the corner, he saw Don and Rick. _Good. He'll be busy for a little while._ Remus entered the elevator quickly. Once inside Don's office, Remus located the bookshelf. There were magazines in the bottom row. He knelt down and examined them. They were all old racing magazines from (Remus checked the dates on them) ten to seventeen years ago. He pulled them out and placed them on his knee. It had to be at least a six-inch tall stack. And these magazines were all normal sized—not the inch thin ones.

"Wow," he muttered. Then, suddenly realizing he didn't have much time, he grabbed the magazines from 2070 to 2072, placed the others neatly back where he found them and ran to the elevator. He got out and the door closed behind him just as Don turned the corner.

"Remus—" Don started.

Remus screamed and ran away like a bat out of hell.

Don stood there dumbfounded. Rick came up behind him. "Like I said…always interesting," Rick said.

Remus entered the pit, running and screaming. Eva nearly fell off the reactor. "Remus!" she cried. "What on earth—"

Remus ran up the ladder onto the right reactor. He stopped screaming. "It's 'what on Alwas' actually. I got the magazines." He held them up.

Eva just stared at him. "I…have nothing to say…"

Remus placed the magazines down on the reactor. "You can look through them after you're finished. For now, I'll make sure they don't get damaged." He shook his paint can and started working. "By the way, E, I didn't ask before, but why didn't you get one at your boarding school? They must've had computers. You could've found one of her on the internet, I'm sure."

"I did," Eva said bitterly. "I found a ton. But I couldn't print them out. School rules say that you can only print out things school related."

Remus stopped what he was doing, looking at her in disbelief. "Don't tell me they wouldn't make an exception."

"They wouldn't." Eva clenched her fists. "I tried over and over again, but the school librarian was the strictest person you'll ever find. And that was the only place where the computers where. The printers were behind the librarian's desk, so people couldn't print out things they weren't supposed to. People did, of course, but they never got what they printed. I tried printing out a picture in the middle of papers that I need for a project, but she checked all the papers. I even tried righting an essay and putting a picture on the bottom of the last page." Eva slumped slightly. "She tore it off and threw it out. I couldn't even get it out of the trash, because I couldn't get behind her desk."

Remus clenched his fists and growled. Eva looked up at him surprised. "That…she'll pay…when we get back to earth, she'll pay, I swear it."

Eva smiled slightly. "Thanks, Remus, but she's not worth it. Besides, I found ways to get back at her. I made her job a personal hell."

"Oh?" Remus raised his eyebrows and leaned forward interestedly.

"Well, it was small things, really," Eva confessed. "For example, I'd find a really long article on something—pages long, maybe twelve or twenty, and then I'd print it out…multiple times. And after a minute, the command can't be taken back. So I wasted a ton of paper, but _she_ was the one who had to explain why all the paper was disappearing. And she couldn't catch me, either. I made sure of that." Eva grinned. "I'd do it in the middle of the afternoon when everyone was in there working on homework. She couldn't tell which one of us it was. Then I started messing up the books. I'd take one book and switch it with one all the way on the other side of the library. You should've seen her after she lost a night's worth of sleep because she had to put the books back. And sometimes the students get a reward trip to the city to see a movie or something. Well, it was during one of those times that I slipped away and got these tattoos and piercing." Eva touched the star and line briefly, and her hand flicked to her ear for a moment. "And got this done." She put a hand on top of her hair, indicating the red.

"But don't you need a guardian's signature to get a tattoo or piercing before your eighteen?" Remus asked. "And to get your hair dyed?"

Eva shrugged. "Well, I didn't need it for the dye."

"And the tattoos and piercing?" Remus pressed.

Eva smiled evilly. "Well…I had gotten a form the last time we had gone and before we went that time, I forged her signature. Any since she's an authority figure at the school…technically…"

"So you had this planned for a while for you to be able to get a form and then have forged her signature for the next time you went," Remus said. Eva nodded. Remus grinned widely. "Nice."

"Thanks." Eva looked very pleased with herself. "She looked so shocked when I came in the next day." Eva laughed. "It was priceless! And then when she got into trouble for signing the forms…it was great!"

"Sounds like," Remus said. "Wish I could've been there."

"So do I," Eva said. "You would've loved it."

"So, did you get the tattoo idea from your mother?" Remus asked.

"Yes," Eva said. "I was thinking about getting the same thing she had, but then I didn't want to copy her entirely. And I used to be fascinated by the stars when I was little. I don't have a lot of memories of my mother, but I do remember that she like to watch the stars. I used to watch them with her sometimes. What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the word 'moon', Remus?"

"Light," Remus said.

"Well, after all those nights watching the moon and stars with my mom, the first thing that some to my mind when I think of moon is 'star'," Eva said. "So that's where the star comes from. Because my mom and me used to watch the stars together and that's the first word I associate with the moon. It just seemed to fit somehow."

Remus nodded. "It's good. It fits perfectly." Then he looked at her hair. "What about that? A dye job gone wrong?"

"No," Eva said. "This was actually something I saw in a magazine once. It was a different color. I think it was a person with brown hair having a layer of blond put on it but I don't remember."

"And the piercings?"

"I just really wanted to tick the librarian off."

"Good for you."

**-.oOO.-**

About an hour later, Remus was finished. He stood up, grabbing the paint cans and magazines and stepped back onto the ladder. His design was simple: a crescent moon with three stars on either side. He looked over at Eva. She was almost finished with her angry rabbit head.

Remus walked down the ladder, pushed it over to Eva and returned the almost empty pain cans to the self. Then he sat down on the ground and started going through the magazines to sort out the ones that had pictures and articles on Maya from the ones that didn't. After going through about five of them, he realized that they _all_ had an article on Maya—that was why Don had kept them. Remus turned the page of the magazine he was currently looking at. He was greeted by the sight of Maya standing in the cockpit, the glass down, waving at the crowd having obviously just won a race. It was slightly from behind as she turned to wave at the crowd on the other side of the camera. Her helmet was tucked under her arm, and Remus noticed a red crescent moon on the back of it.

He closed the magazine and placed it on top of the others. He slid them under the shelves and out of plain sight. "Hey, E," he called, "I need to go see if I can find something. I'll be back. The magazines are under the shelves."

"What are you looking for?" Eva asked.

"A helmet, some stencils, and a scrapbook," he replied. Then he ran out of the hanger.

**-.oOOo.-**

Half an hour later, Eva got down from the left reactor and threw out the empty cans and replaced the ones that still had paint. She pulled out the magazines and started looking through them. She tore out every page that had a picture or an article on her mother and placed them in a pile. She knew that was probably a bad idea since these magazines weren't hers and Don might notice if all these magazines went missing, leaving her only hope to be that her father wouldn't look through these magazines again.

She was staring at one picture of her mother grinning triumphantly, holding a gold cup while Don stood on the other side of her holding a four-year-old Eva in his arms, when a voice startled her. "Are you okay, E?"

She looked up to see Remus standing there, holding a silver helmet with a black scrapbook sticking out form inside it.

"What's that for?" Eva asked, pretending not to notice when her voice cracked.

"Well, besides its primary function as a device that helps avoid the messy complication of your head getting smashed in, it's also quite stylish when decorated with your own personal symbol." Remus sat down beside her, grabbing a can of dark blue pain. "A single star or the symbol I painted on the right reactor?"

Eva thought for a second before shrugging. "I'm not sure. A single star would seem like copying my mom too much. Why are we doing this again?"

"Right, then, the right reactor symbol." Remus pulled out two stencils: one of a crescent moon shape and one of a star. He placed the crescent moon in the middle and spray painted it on. Then he did the same thing with the star six times—three on each side of the moon.

"There," Remus said, handing the helmet to Eva.

Eva looked at it for a moment before looking at a picture of her mother suspiciously. The helmet looked a lot like the one she had had.

"Maya had a similar helmet with a crescent moon on the back of hers. I thought you might like something similar," Remus explained. "You'd be surprised what these Scrub merchants are selling, by the way. I have to wonder where they got all this stuff. Anyway, you don't have to wear it during races if you don't want to, although, you should considering your tendencies to get bumped around a lot and the fact that you have no seatbelt or anything…something I've been meaning to fix as soon as I can figure out how…either way, I thought you might like it."

"Thanks, Remus," Eva said. "I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Remus said. "If it does nothing else, maybe it'll force Don to get a clue…the similarities… Did your mother perform any moves that only she did? Or have any trademark moves?"

"I don't know," Eva said, shaking her head. "I don't remember." She looked at the helmet for a moment before trying it on. She adjusted the straps so it fit snuggly.

"Nice," Remus said. "Looks good." He glanced at the piles of pictures and articles Eva had gathered. "We're going to have to hope Don never looks at these magazines again, aren't we?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Eva said. "I think he might notice if twenty-four magazines went missing for a while."

"Yeah, probably," Remus said. "So hurry up so I can get those back up there."

**-.oOOo.-**

Fifteen minutes later, with Remus helping her, Eva had collected all pictures and articles of her mother. Remus took the magazines and hide them in his room while Eva took the pictures and articles to her own room.

Eva slipped the articles and pictures into the sleeves of the scrapbook, taking care not to bend the pages or corners even a tiny bit. When she was finished, she placed it on the table next to her sketchbook. Her hand lingered on the cover for a minute. Then she tore herself away from it; she had a race to win.

When she found Jordan, he was putting a bandaid on his cheek. "What happened to your face?"

"I tripped…choking on a pretzel," he muttered, walking toward the pit.

"Um…about earlier…" she started.

"Come on, Molly," he said, "we've got a race to win."

Eva smiled slightly.

**-oOOo.-**

Remus quickly replaced the magazines and went to the control room. He stood in the doorway, staring. "Hey…you're in my chair…"

Rick looked up at Remus and smiled. "Sorry, wolfie."

Remus looked surprised. "Wolfie? Where'd that—hey! That's my headset, too!"

Rick shrugged, still smiling.

"I guess you'll just have to stand," Don said.

"Or I could sit on you again," Remus said. Stan and Koji exchanged glances and snickered.

Rick looked around at everyone, clearly lost. "I feel as though I missed something very entertaining."

"You did, you did," Remus assured him.

"There's a chair in the next room," Don said.

Remus grabbed it and sat down next to Don. The Arrow entered the arena and appeared on the screen. Don got to his feet. "What is that monstrosity?"

"Oh come on," Remus said, "Stan's not _that_ ugly."

"Watch it," Stan said. Remus raised his hands defensively.

"It looks like a rabbit's head to me," Rick said amused. Don glared at him. "Hey, you told me to light a fire, so I lit a fire. Remember, Don, before I met you, I didn't _have_ any tattoos."

Remus stared at Rick. "So many stories could be attached to that statement." He turned his gaze to Don. "You make me wonder. You really do."

Don turned to him. "Did you have anything to do with this?"

"Don't look at me," Remus said. "I painted the moon and stars. The rabbit head was all her."

Don narrowed his eyes. He turned his attention to the screen as Super-racer entered the arena.

"I see you tried to top the fabulous design of my Star-racer," Super-racer said, coming over the communication link. "Your attempt has failed!"

"That voice sounds really familiar," Jordan said.

Remus put his head right next to Don's and spoke into Don's headset while Don tried to push him away. "E, tell him that the Arrow kicks butt, and he knows it!"

Don pushed him away. "There's an extra headset in the other room as well," Don growled.

Remus ran into the room, grabbed it and ran back in time to hear Don shout, "We need this victory! Do you hear me?"

Remus said down in his chair, putting on his headset. "Well, aren't you just a little ray of sunshine?"

The gate dropped and the Arrow gained an instant lead as Super-racer's ship "galloped" a ways before staying in the air.

"Not now, Remus," Don growled.

"Give Don a break, Remus," Rick said. "You can start back up after the race, but for now keep your comments to yourself."

"Yes, Master," Remus said in a raspy, hissing voice. He got the impression that Rick rolled his eyes.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva dodged as Setis started firing at the Arrow.

"Back off, you super wacko!" Jordan shouted, firing back.

Two giant boulders detached themselves from Setis' racer and started to spin around in loops, covering the race track.

"Molly," Jordan cried, seeing his laser fire bounce of the rocks harmlessly, "we may have a problem back here!"

Eva looked behind her—just in time to dodge the boulders. The second one grazed the side of the turret. Thankfully, Jordan wasn't on that side.

Don came up on the small communication screen. "Lose him, Molly!"

"I'm trying, sir, but I'm at maximum speed!" Eva preformed several barrel rolls and ducked to avoid the rocks.

Don waited for her to be in the clear before saying, "He has a bigger wingspan than the Arrow 2. He's not as maneuverable. Take advantage of that."

"Okay," Eva said. She cut the corners as tight as she could and managed to gain some distance between her and Setis. That last only a minute. Setis sped up and one of the rocks hit the turret. The Arrow turned on its side. Eva tried to right the Arrow. It tilted sideways again. "What is up with these controls?" she asked frustrated, pushing buttons on the control panel on her rocket seat. Finally, she got the Arrow flying right. "Stick with me, Jordan," she said, accelerating the Arrow. "We're goin' after him."

When Setis next came into view, Eva froze. Jordan was on Setis' racer, holding on for dear life. The top of the racer flew off through the air, taking Jordan with it.

"No!" Eva cried. She stopped the Arrow and spun around.

"Molly, what are you doing?" Don demanded.

"Something_ you_ wouldn't understand," Eva shot back. "I'm going back for someone."

**-.oOOo.-**

Don froze. He wanted to say something, convince Molly to turn back and finish the race but he couldn't form the words. Her statement shouldn't have affected him like this; his mind turned to Eva. Then he forced it back to the race.

"The track's rescue team is on the way," Rick said. "The best thing you can do for Jordan is to beat this guy."

Eva turned the Arrow around and shot after Setis. Don started when he realized he'd called her Eva. He shook himself. _Molly_ caught up with Setis in the canyon. The boulder started to move faster in its figure-eight pattern, glowing yellow, completely blocking the canyon. Molly couldn't get passed him.

Don sat back down in his chair. "They'll never make it."

Rick didn't say anything. Remus covered his mike and Don's. "You really should have more faith in her," he muttered. "It would really help her, you know."

"If this has anything to do with her being Eva—"

Remus raised his eyebrows. "So you believe me?"

"No," Don said quickly.

"You just said—"

"You know what I meant," Don snapped.

Remus gave him a look and turned his attention to the screen.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva closed her eyes. _One breathing entity…_ Her eyes snapped open. The world seemed to slow down; she could see an opening. She accelerated the Arrow and shot through the opening. She turned sharply as she left the canyon and flew towards the finish line.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus punched the air. "Yes!"

The rest of the team turned to Don as he stood up, looking relieved. Then he noticed everyone staring at him and coughed. "It was a reckless gamble, but I'll take the victory." He left the room.

"There was _nothing_ reckless about that race, and you know it better than anyone," Rick said softly, smiling.

"Got that right," Remus said. "My girl's got nothing but _skills_." Then he remember Jordan. "Crud! Gunner-boy! Have we gotten any word on Gunner-boy?"

"Not yet," Rick said. "Why don't you go see if you can find him?"

"Right-o, then," Remus said and ran out of the room right into Don in the hall. "Sorry, sir—"

"What are you doing with my magazines?"

"Nothing," Remus said smoothly. "I didn't even know you _had_ magazines."

"They weren't in my office earlier, Remus," Don said, narrowing his eyes.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I haven't touched 'em," Remus said. "Now if you'll excuse me…" He ducked around Don and ran.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva and Jordan sat on the Arrow at the beach, watching the sunset. When it went down completely, they got in and started back to the hanger.

"I have to make a quick stop at the Lupanian Hanger, Jordan," she said. "I'll only be a minute."

"Okay, but what—?"

Eva ignored him as she jumped down from the Arrow and ran into the Lupanian Hanger. Duncan was petting Hunter and talking to him. "Oh, Molly," he said surprised. "What brings you here?"

"I need to know if you have any food dye," Eva said.

"Do I want to know why you want it?" Duncan asked suspiciously.

"Only if you want to be labeled as an accomplice," Eva said.

"Right," Duncan said. "I'll be back in a second. Any color, right?" Eva nodded. "Right…"

He came back holding a bottle of dark blue liquid. He held it out to Eva. She reached for it, and he pulled it back. "Remember, if anyone asks where you got this…"

"I hit my head when I slipped on a banana peel and can't remember."

Duncan gave her a look.

Eva sighed. "Fine. I hit my head when I tripped over my feet and can't remember."

Duncan smiled and handed over the food dye. "There. Much less Remus-like. More believable, as such."

Eva shrugged and returned to the Arrow.

**-.oOOo.-**

"Sir," Molly said, "do you know where Remus is?"

"Where he always is, Molly," Don said. "Up on the roof." He eyed the bottle in h er hand. "What are you planning on doing with that?"

"Wha—? Oh, nothing," Molly said, hiding the bottle behind her back.

"You wouldn't happened to be planning on putting that in Remus' shampoo or anything, would you?" Don asked suspiciously.

Molly looked at him surprised. "How did you—?"

"My wife used to love playing harmless pranks as pay back," Don said.

"Really?" Molly looked surprised, pleased and eager. "What was she like?"

Don raised an eyebrow. "Why so curious, Molly?"

"Oh, um, no reason," Molly said awkwardly. "Just…never knew you had a wife, is all."

Don sighed. "I know we've gotten off to a bad start, Molly, but I'd like to try again if that's alright with you."

"Yes, of course," Molly said surprised, but with a slight edge to her voice. Don had expected that after the last race.

"Good," Don said. "I suppose we could start by me forgetting I saw that food dye, hm?"

"Er…yeah…that might be a good idea…" Molly glanced around. "Thanks."

Don nodded. "By the way, Molly, do you know what Remus did with some pages from some of my old racing magazines? He took them and replaced them, but all the articles on one of the racers are missing."

Molly suddenly looked nervous. "Um, no, I don't know anything about that. Sorry. Well, I'd better hurry before Remus come down." Then she ducked passed Don and hurried down the hallway.

Don watched her go and then headed up to his office. He sat in his chair at his desk and stared at the box on it. Memories filled his mind.

"As long as we can fly, we still have a chance. I refuse to believe it's the end of the world," Maya said, placing a hand on his cheek. 

"_Mommy's really the best! Nothing could _ever_ happen to her!"_

Don closed his eyes.

"Daddy, I can't see!" 

"_Okay, Eva, time for a piggy back. There? That better?"_

"I can see her! She's winning! She's winning!" 

Don slumped in his chair, leaning his head against the back of it.

_Don got up early in the morning, long before Eva would wake up and long before the sun had risen. He entered her room. As quietly as he could, he packed her things. He took the suitcase out to the car and put it in the truck. Now the only thing left to do was wait for her to wake up. _

_He had told her the day before that she would be going to a new school. He hadn't told her much about, just the name. He definitely hadn't told her that he was going to leave her there. He didn't want to, but he just couldn't take care of her…he could barely take care of himself…and he couldn't risk harming her like he had Maya. She never would've been in the Interplanetary Championships if it weren't for him…he had pushed her to compete… He had led her to her death. _

_When Eva woke up, Don had finished make her breakfast and was setting it on the table. He watched as Eva ate, wondering what to say. He wasn't eating anything; he didn't think he'd be able to stomach it at the moment. _

"_Eva," he finally said, "are you ready to go to school?" _

_Eva finished off the last of her breakfast before nodding. Don stood up and cleared her empty plate off the table. He waited patiently for her to finish her apple juice before taking the cup and placing it in the sink as well. "Come on," he said. "You wouldn't want to be late."_

"_Okay," she said, slipping off her chair onto the floor. _

_Don grabbed an umbrella as they head to the door. He paused when they reached it, however. "Eva…" _

"_Yes, Daddy?" _

_Don knelt down beside her as she turned to face him and gathered her up into his arms. He hugged her tightly. "I love you, Eva. Very much."_

_Eva hugged him back. "I love you too, Daddy."_

Don leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk and placing his head in his hands. It was several minutes before he looked up. His eyes landed on the box again. Finally, he pressed the button that brought up the communication computer.

"I want to contract Earth. When is the next available time of communication?"

"Tomorrow night," the computer said. "From nine to ten."

"Thank you," Don said quietly. He turned off the computer.

**-.oOOo.-**

Early the next morning, the hanger was awoken to Remus' shout of "EEEVAAAA!"

Don smiled ever so slightly. Yes, Maya clearly would've failed.

_**Chapter preview: Resistant Like Rush – **When Don Wei entered the kitchen that morning, he stopped dead in his tracks. Remus was serving Rick, Stan and Koji breakfast while Jordan and Molly waited for their to finish cooking, but that wasn't what made him stop. What made him stop was Remus. His hair no longer shown brown in the light but dark blue, and he had streaks of blue down his face, neck, arms and his hands were completely covered in it. Most importantly, he looked royally ticked off. _

_Don sat down at the end of the Japanese table with Rick at the other end. Rick looked like he was hiding a smile. Jordan was sitting on Don's right while Molly sat on the other side of Jordan. Remus set their food laden plates down in front of them, eyes gleaming dangerously. Molly winced. Remus went back to the stove. Don watched as Molly looked at her food worriedly, and Jordan silently offered her one of his pieces of toast. She took it gratefully and ate it. Stan, Koji and Rick all pitched in, offering her something. Rick gave her his drink; Stan gave her a piece of bacon, and Koji gave her eggs. Molly carefully kept her food and the other's food separated. _

_Don leaned forward. "For what its worth, I doubt he's going to poison you," he whispered. _

"_Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?" she asked annoyed. _

"_He's going to want an eye for an eye," Don said in a low voice. He glanced at Remus, then leaned closer and lowered his voice so Molly had to lean closer herself to hear. "You'd best watch your step."_

Thanks for reading and please review! I BEG OF YOU, REVIEW!! PLEASE!!! …Erm…okay. Please? Six reviews, that's all I ask. Please?

Once again, if you noticed any spelling errors, ect. please let me know and I'll mix it.


	14. Resistant Like Rush

**Disclaimer: **Still don't own Oban Star-racers. Still own Lupanians and Jubalins.

Yay! Eight reviews! EIGHT! WOOHOO!! Thank you to everyone that reviewed!

Moon and Star

Ch.14: Resistant Like Rush

When Don Wei entered the kitchen that morning, he stopped dead in his tracks. Remus was serving Rick, Stan and Koji breakfast while Jordan and Molly waited for theirs to finish cooking, but that wasn't what made him stop. What made him stop was Remus. His hair no longer shown brown in the light but dark blue, and he had streaks of blue down his face, neck, arms and his hands were completely covered in it. Most importantly, he looked royally ticked off.

Don sat down at the end of the Japanese table with Rick at the other end. Rick looked like he was hiding a smile. Jordan was sitting on Don's right while Molly sat on the other side of Jordan. Remus set their food-laden plates down in front of them, eyes gleaming dangerously. Molly winced. Remus went back to the stove. Don watched as Molly looked at her food worriedly, and Jordan silently offered her one of his pieces of toast. She took it gratefully and ate it. Stan, Koji and Rick all pitched in, offering her something. Rick gave her his drink; Stan gave her a piece of bacon, and Koji gave her eggs. Molly carefully kept her food and the other's food separated.

Don leaned forward. "For what its worth, I doubt he's going to poison you," he whispered.

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?" she asked annoyed.

"He's going to want an eye for an eye," Don said in a low voice. He glanced at Remus, then leaned closer and lowered his voice so Molly had to lean closer herself to hear. "You'd best watch your step." Don flicked his eyes to Remus to make sure he was occupied. "Check all doorways and don't use your own shampoo. And, whatever you do, don't let your guard down…ever."

Jordan looked at Don surprised. "Sir, how do you know that?"

"Someone I used to know," Don said shortly with a flicker of a fond smile.

They looked at Remus as he sat down with Don's and his food. "What are you talking about?"

"Racing strategies," Don said, taking his food. "Thank you."

"What are you talking about?" Jordan asked confused. "You were telling Molly—"

Molly clamped a hand over Jordan's mouth. "Can it, Jordan," she hissed.

Rick stood up, looking amused. "Come on, you two. We've got training to do."

Don watched them go. He turned back to his meal. He finished it, cleared his place and returned to his office. As he sat at his desk, staring at the communication computer, he tried to think of what he would say to Eva. One way or another, he would be talking to her soon, and he had no idea what to say. He could only hope that she understood that he'd done what he had thought was best at the time.

But he doubted she would.

**-.oOOo.-**

An hour later, Remus had taken another shower and gotten rid of the color. He was now in the Lupanian pit, scratching the underside of Hunter's chin.

"Remus?" He looked over to see Lily. "What are you doing here?"

"Well…I_ was _kinda made a part of the pack, right? I kinda thought that meant I was free to come and go," Remus said.

"Oh," Lily said. "Yes, you are. I just thought you'd be getting ready for your team's race is all."

Remus shook his head. "E's training with Jordan. There's nothing for me to do." A thought hit him. "Say…you wouldn't happen to have a picture of my parents, would you?"

"No," Lily said, taken aback. Then she amended, "Well, not of them _specifically_. I have a family photo if you want to see that."

"Could I?" Remus asked hopefully.

"Of course. It's in my room. Come on," she said.

Remus followed her to her room, feeling nervous as Lily rummaged through her things. Finally, she found what she was looking for. She handed it to Remus.

The oak frame was etched with Celtic knots all around. The picture was one that looked to have been some sort of family reunion in a park. Remus was taken aback by the number of people in the photograph. There had to be at least thirty people. On the right side of the picture was a woman with hair the same shade as Remus' and ice blue eyes, holding a three-year-old boy with black hair and green eyes. Standing next to them was a man with red hair and green eyes. Remus brushed his thumb over them. They looked so happy.

"Remus? Are you okay?" Lily asked.

Remus blinked. "Yeah…I'm fine…" Tears slipped down his cheeks.

Lily tried to brush them away but more tears took their place. She pulled him into a hug, resting her cheek against his head as Remus cried into her shoulder. Lily glanced at the open door and saw Duncan standing there awkwardly, unsure what to do. She glared at him, a protective urge rising up inside her. Getting the message, Duncan raised his hands defensively and backed out of sight.

Lily stroked Remus' hair as he cried harder. "Ssshh, Remus, it's okay," she whispered. "It's okay."

"No," Remus sobbed. "No, it's not." The picture slipped from his numb fingers. It clattered to the floor. He clung to her like his life depended on it. "They didn't finish the job. They won't stop, they'll never stop. I'll never be free. They won't stop."

"_Who_ won't stop?" Lily asked alarmed.

Remus just shook his head.

**-.oOOo.-**

"So, how did today's training go?" Don asked Rick, glancing down at Molly entering the cockpit.

"We're doomed," Rick said solemnly.

Don took a step backward. "What?"

Rick chuckled. "Training was great today. I think you'll be very pleased with their progress."

Don turned to face the pit. "Okay places, people! The race is about to start. I'm counting on you." He paused, looking down at Molly who seemed to be muttering under her breath bitterly. 'Good luck' was on the tip of his tongue for a moment. He decided against it and headed to the control room.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus entered the control room and sat down silently. "That fat Santa doesn't scare me," Jordan said confidently. Then he said, "Well…not really."

"Get ready, Jordan," Eva said. The gate dropped and she and Rush shot forward; Eva gained the lead easily. "Koji, do you know anything about this target rule?"

"Not yet," Koji said, "but I'm working on it."

"There's hidden targets, no doubt," Don said.

There was silence for a moment…then everyone turned to look at Remus. Eva appeared on the control room screen.

"Hey, Remus, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Koji said worriedly, "it's not like you to miss a chance to make fun of Don…you manage to pull it off just about every time he opens his mouth."

"What's your problem?" Stan asked but not unkindly.

Remus was leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees, gaze to the ground. Now he bowed his head, his hair falling in front of his face.

"Remus…?" Eva was getting alarmed now.

Remus didn't answer them. His visit with Lily seemed to have zapped him of all his strength. It just seemed like too much energy to talk.

"Remus!" Eva cried. "Say something, please! You're scaring me!"

"I'm fine," he murmured, to numb to feel bad about worrying her. He fell silent again.

There was an explosion and everyone turned back to the race. "Molly! The sphere's! _They're_ your targets!" Don said.

Eva turned around and tried to get the targets she missed.

"Molly!" Don shouted.

"Give it a break, Don," Rick said. "You'll only freak her out."

"Rick, I asked you to coach them, not me."

Gradually, the sound around him seemed to fade into the background as Remus fell deeper into his thoughts and memories.

"_Mommy, Mommy!" a three-year-old Remus cried, running up to his mother. "Lookie, I found a birdie egg!"_

_He opened his hands to revel a blue egg. _

"_That's a robin's egg," his mother said. "Where'd you get that?"_

_Remus pointed to a tree by the pond near their cabin. "It was o' the 'round by the tree."_

"_Well, we'd better go put it back," she said. _

Remus fingers twitched.

"_Dad, can I go fishing with you?" a six-year-old Remus asked. _

_His father chuckled. "Not today, Remus." He ruffled Remus' hair. "I've only got one pole. And you have a dentist appointment. Next time, though, I promise."_

Remus' shoulder's sagged. "Okay…" 

Remus took a deep breath and let it out.

_The moon was high in the sky. In a few days it would be full. _

"_Come on, Remus," his mother said. "Eat up. The sooner you finish, the sooner your father and I will take you out to teach you to hunt."_

_Remus looked at his green beans disgusted. "Okay…" He ate them as fast as he could, barely chewing. He swallowed them. "Why do I have to eat now when we're going hunting?"_

"_Because we're not going to kill anything tonight, Remus," she said. _

"_That's right," his father said. "Besides, with this being your first night, it's doubtful you'll catch anything anyway."_

_Remus crossed his arms, offended. "Hey!"_

"_I'm not saying you're going to be a bad hunter, Remus," his father amended. "I'm simply saying that hardly anyone catches anything their first night. I didn't. And you're mother didn't, either."_

_Remus looked at his mother, surprised. She nodded. "That's right."_

"_Really? Neither of you?"_

"_Neither of us." His mother stood up and grabbed his now empty plate and put it in the sink. "Well, now that you're finished, we can go out."_

_Remus punched the air. "Yeah!" He'd been waiting for this for weeks and now the moment was here. He couldn't wait._

Remus wished now that he hadn't finished his dinner. He wished that he'd done something to get himself grounded that day, to make it so that they didn't go out that night. But he hadn't. And now they were dead.

**-.oOOo.-**

They were flying through a tunnel, looking around as they heard the sound of exploding targets. "We're in the wrong tunnel!" Jordan said. "The targets are all on _his_ side!"

"Switching to the inferred sensors," Eva said, pushing a button.

Suddenly, they were able to see upcoming targets. Jordan shot at them, hitting them all. "Yahoo! Let's see what he thinks of _that_!" he exclaimed.

"Hold on, Jordan, we're leaving the tunnel," Eva said.

Jordan looked forward, surprised as they left the tunnel. The sunlight blinded him. He covered his eyes as they teared up. He wiped at them, trying to see. Red streaks crossed his vision. "Oh great," he muttered. "Now, I'm going color blind…Wait a minute…" He opened the communication channel between the turret and the cockpit. "Hey, Molly, would you do me a favor and give me an edge?"

"Sure thing, partner," Eva said and rolled the Arrow on its side.

Jordan started firing at hidden targets, hitting seven before Rush realized what was happening.

The weapons on the side of Stormcrusher snapped outward, covering the track and hit the rest of the hidden targets. Now they were tied. They went through another tunnel again, coming out the canyon. Eva looked around.

"Okay, Jordan," she said. "Looks like we're back to racing." She sped up, and, when both she and Rush were out of the canyon, tried to pass him. Something up ahead caught her eye. "The last target! Jordan!"

"I've got it," he said, taking aim. Rush blocked their view and swiped at the target but missed and instead hit the pole holding it up. It fell…Eva spun the Arrow around and flew at it, passing it again. Jordan took aim…fired…

**-.oOOo.-**

A sudden cheer startled Remus out of his thoughts. He looked up. Eva and Rush were circling the smoke from a sphere—the last one.

"They won! They won!" Stan and Koji cheered.

"Well, Don," Rick said, "you tried your best to stop them, but they won anyway."

Remus stood up and left the room; Don and Rick watched him go.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva jumped down from the Arrow as Jordan left through the entrance to the turret. He was rubbing his eyes, which were still watering. "You okay, Jordan?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said.

Rick and Don came into the pit. Don went over to Jordan. "Brilliant work today, my boy," he said happily, placing a hand on Jordan's shoulder. "Superb aim."

"Thank you, sir," Jordan said.

Eva's shoulders sagged, and she felt a pang of envy towards Jordan. _He's my father…and yet he completely ignores me… If he only knew what I do for him…what I'd give to have him shower _me_ with praises like that…_ The ache in heart throbbed painfully.

Suddenly, Don turned to her, still smiling. "And excellent flying today, Molly. You got off to a rocky start but you pulled through and got us back on track as well."

Eva blushed slightly from the praise. "Thank you, sir," she said gratefully. Suddenly, she remembered something. "Sir, where's Remus? Is he alright?"

Don sighed. "I don't know where he is, E—Molly." Eva's eyes widened slightly. Had he just been about to call her by her real name? _That's not possible! He couldn't know!_ "But I think he left the hanger."

Eva instantly grabbed some tools and rushed back up into the cockpit. "Jordan, get up here and help me!"

"Oh, right, sorry," he said. He climbed up the ladder to the cockpit. "What are you doing, again?"

"I'm going to look for Remus," she said. The rocket seat came loose from the steering column. "And I need you to get this down for me."

"Didn't you get this thing in before?" Jordan asked.

"No," Eva said. "Remus did. I just put it on the steering column."

"Figures," Jordan muttered, picking it up. Eva grabbed one end of it and Jordan got the other. Carefully, one after the other, they climbed down the ladder and placed the rocket seat on the floor. Eva pulled her goggles down over her eyes, looking determined as she sat down on it.

"Woah, hold a second, Molly," Jordan said, grabbing a pair of wielding glasses. "I'm coming with you." He hopped onto the back and put his arms around her waist.

"Okay, hold on!" Eva said as the rocket seat shot forward, nearly dislodging Jordan.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don watched them remove the rocket seat from Arrow, silently berating himself. _Why did you almost call her Eva? You don't even know she's your daughter yet! Remus could be lying!_

_Remus wouldn't lie about this,_ Don realized suddenly. Everything about Remus' personality said he was a joker, but he wasn't cruel.

_How do _you_ know?! You don't even know him! He showed up in the road one day and you took him in! Do you know _anything_ about his past?_ his mind argued.

Don faltered, falling back into doubt. But that didn't stop him from narrowing his eyes and feeling overly protective when he saw Jordan sit down behind Molly and wrap his arms around her waist. He walked around the Arrow to watch them until they were out of sight.

"Is something bothering you, Don?" Rick asked.

"No," Don said. "Everything's fine." _It's nothing a call won't fix. But if Jordan touches her again…_ Then he shook his head, clearing that thought and went back to his office. There was nothing left to do now but wait.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus stood right at the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean, his head tilted back to the sky. The sun was behind him, dipping lower in the sky as the afternoon wore on. He lowered his eyes to stare over the edge of the cliff. It was so far down…

_What would it be like to jump?_ he wondered curiously. _To feel the wind in you're face and the adrenaline pumping through your veins? To see the ground rushing up to met you? Do you die instantly? Or do you feel the pain right before you die?_ His head tilted to the side. _Why do people jump? Why don't they all just shoot themselves or hang themselves? Why do they jump?_

The question was left unanswered, but one more step…

Remus back-pedaled suddenly, alarmed. _Where the hell did that come from?!_ _I thought I was over that! _Eyes wide, breathing heavily, Remus turned and ran towards town.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva and Jordan rode through town slowly and then picked up speed as they reached the outskirts and there weren't any people to watch out for.

"I don't see him, Molly," Jordan said. "Maybe we should head back."

"No, not until we find him," Eva said.

"He could be back at the hanger for all we now," Jordan said. "I think our best bet is to wait for him to get back."

Eva slowed to a stop. "Jordan, we don't know that he _is_ back at the hanger, and I'm worried about him. He wasn't himself today."

"I know, Molly," Jordan said. "I'm worried about him too. But what can we really do for him right now? We don't know where he is or what's wrong."

Eva sighed. "I know, but…" She looked up. "Alright, we'll head back. But first, do you see that temple there? I want to check it out first. Remus could be in there."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Molly," Jordan said.

"Come on, Jordan. It'll only take a minute," she said, turning off the rocket seat and getting off.

"All right, all right," Jordan said. He got off as well and followed her. The temple was in the middle of a pond; the only way to get to it was by walking up a fallen pillar.

Once they were inside, Eva looked around, spotting a hole in the opposite wall. She ran over, pulling a flashlight off her belt and turned it on. "Remus?" she asked, seeing that she was looking into a tunnel. "Remus, are you there?"

There was no answer.

"Okay, Molly," Jordan said, looking around nervously. "I think it's time to go."

Eva ignored him and climbed into the tunnel and started crawling through it. Almost instantly, it collapsed. She screamed as she started to fall.

"Molly!" Jordan shouted, running forward and grabbing her shoe. Her scream got fainter and fainter. Jordan's eyes widened as he saw he only had her shoe. "MOLLY!"

Eva shot out the end of another tunnel and onto the ground. She sat up slowly, aching all over. "Dang it."

"Molly? Are you okay?" came Jordan's faint cry.

"I'm fine!" she shouted into the tunnel, opening it would carry her voice back to him. "I'm going to check around here and see if I can find an exit!" She started to look around when a wall etched with carvings caught her eye. She shined the flashlight on it. "Weird…those look like Star-racers…but that can't be…these carvings must be thousands of years old." She brushed the dust away from one carving to reveal an odd symbol—an eye with spiky spider legs around it.

Without warning, the walls began to crack and water burst into the chamber.

"Molly!" Jordan shouted. "The temple's sinking! Get outta there!"

Eva looked around frantically as the room filled with water rapidly. She couldn't find anyway out! The holes in the wall weren't big enough for her to climb out through them, but even if they were the force of the water rushing in wouldn't allow her to go through them anyway.

Realization hit her like a block of ice: she was going to die.

**-.oOOo.-**

The narrow street was crowded and people constantly jostled each other; even the people who were sitting at the counter of a bar were bumped into time and again. Remus sat there, loosely gripping his drink. He didn't know what he was drinking, but judging from the way he was starting to feel light-headed and his words started to slur when he ordered another, he was guessing it was some kind of alcohol.

A shiver ran up and down his spine, but his fuzzy brain didn't recognize his sixth-sense. He lifted the cup to his lips again and drank deeply. He had had only two drinks, but the bartender recognized that he didn't drink often.

"Another one, please," Remus slurred, holding out his cup.

The bartender took it. "I think you've had enough," he said. "Wouldn't want to you start a fight or anything."

"I won't start a fight…'romise," Remus said.

"Nah, you've had enough. Trust me," the bartender said.

In a flash, Remus had jumped to his feet, grabbed the bartender by his shirt and pulled him closer so their faces were an inch apart. "Give me the damn drink," he said in a low, dangerous voice, his eyes gleaming.

"O-okay," the Scrub said. "Just let go of me, please!"

Remus let him go with a tiny shove and sat back down calmly. The bartender quickly got him another drink and placed it in front of him before scrambling to serve another customer. Remus took it and gulped it down.

**-.oOOo.-**

Jordan jumped into the water and swam for land. Reaching it, he looked back for Molly. She was nowhere in sight. "Molly!" he shouted. No answer. He was about to jump back into the water when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned around, eyes widening as he saw Rush.

"There's nothing you can do for her now," Rush said. "So stay here."

Rush had attached himself to a cord, enabling him to hang from his ship. Controlling it while suspended by the cord, he flew over to the temple, broke a hole in it with his axe and jumped down into the sinking structure.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva's lungs screamed for air. She swam around, trying to find a way out. The tunnel she had fallen down had caved in when the temple started to sink.

Finally, Eva passed out and water filled her lungs.

**-.oOOo.-**

Lily sat on her bed, staring at the picture of the family reunion, eyes glued to Remus and his parents. Lily couldn't remember that day at all, and as far as she knew that was the last time she had seen Remus and his parents. She was still curious to know just _why_ they had lost contact, but she would have to wait until they were back on Earth to find out.

A knock on the doorframe caused her to look up. Duncan was standing there in his Lupanian form, his yellow eyes fixed on her, worried and curious. "Are you all right? You've been in here almost all day."

"I'm just worried about Remus," she said. Duncan hesitantly stepped into her room; when she made no move to tell him to get out, he walked over to the bed and sat down beside her. He placed an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his side. "When he saw his parents, he completely broke down. He kept saying that 'they'll never stop, they didn't finish the job' but I couldn't get him to tell me who 'they' were. And when he left, he looked so out of it…"

Duncan tilted his head back in thought. "Did you ever find out how his parents were killed? You never told me much of the first time you two meet."

"He said that his parents were killed by the Hunters," Lily said, staring at the floor. A moment later, her eyes widened. "You don't think…"

"They're called the Hunters for a reason. They find Lupanians and kill them; they've been known to kill whole families, even little children and babies," Duncan said. "I've never heard of a Lupanian whose escaped them and hasn't been forced into hiding." He sighed. "Unfortunately, the Hunters are like one big hunting party. If one group looses their prey, a notice is sent out to all the other hunters in the surrounding areas and then, if the Lupanian still isn't caught, all the parties on the continent are informed and Hunters in every state are looking for you."

Lily shivered. "So, are you saying that Remus…?"

"Has been hunted like a rabid animal since he was seven? Yes," Duncan said. He closed his eyes. "Most Lupanians try to get to Yellowstone, but some don't make it and some…well, some get so sick of the fear and the knowledge that they aren't completely safe, even in Yellowstone, that they just kill themselves or let themselves be caught. Death is usually quick and painless. We're not worth the time to torture. Ever second we're still alive, is a second that the world is still contaminated with our existence," he finished bitterly.

"Remus…" Lily murmured.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva's world slowly came into focus, and immediately she was blinded by a white light. She closed her eyes and threw up her hands to shield them. Groaning, she turned over, trying to block out the light.

A hand was stroking her hair, and her head was resting on something soft. "Eva," a familiar voice whispered. "Eva, wake up."

Eva's eyes snapped open. She turned over and looked up. Her mother was leaning over her, smiling. "Mother…" She tried to sit up, confused, but Maya gently pushed her back down so Eva's head was resting in her lap. "Relax for a moment, Eva. You need to regain your strength."

Eva looked around. They were in a large open field with a forest surrounding it. There was a pond and she could hear a stream nearby, just beyond the trees. The sky was a clear blue with clouds floating along lazily. Several yards off stood two people: a man with red hair and green eyes and a woman with black hair and ice blue eyes.

"Where are we?" Eva asked, closing her eyes. She felt exhausted.

"The Kingdom of the Dead," Maya said, resuming stroking Eva's hair. "The name makes it sound worse than it is. This place is simply amazing. You can go anywhere you want!"

"What…?"

"Your soul goes where it feels most at ease," Maya explained. "Would you believe that I ended up at a race track at first? Then I found this place. I never knew anything could be so beautiful. It's so open and free. I love it."

Eva opened her eyes again; this time her eyes weren't blinded by the light. "I still don't understand…" She looked over at the man and the woman. "Who are these people?"

"I've only met them recently," Maya said. "About six days ago. They're Remus' parents."

"They're…!" Eva sat up suddenly, staring at the couple, shocked. "No way…!"

Maya smiled sadly. "Yes, they are."

"Wait, how do you know about Remus?" Eva asked.

"I've been watching you," she said. "You just can't see me, but I'm there."

Eva stared at her mother as though finally fully realizing what was going on. "Mom!" she cried and flung herself at Maya, wrapping her arms around Maya's neck. Maya returned the embrace, hugging her tightly.

A thought occurred to Eva. "So…so I'm dead?" she whispered.

"No…not yet," Maya said, pulling away from her daughter. "You can still go back. …You _have_ to go back. You're not ready to join me yet."

"But I don't want to go!" Eva protested.

"Please, Eva," Maya pleaded. "You've still got the rest of your life ahead of you, and friends who care about you and need you. And your father—"

Eva growled. "Dad doesn't even know I exist anymore," she said bitterly.

"That's not true," Maya said. "He—"

"He abandoned me! He doesn't even know who I am!" Eva said angrily.

"He's not as clueless as you think he is," Maya said. "He's known for some time that you've been lying to him…he just doesn't know about _what_ yet." Maya bit her tongue gently.

Eva got the feeling that her mother wasn't telling her something. "I still want to stay with you."

"What about Remus?" Maya asked. "You don't know it, but he needs you more than you think…or will probably ever know."

Eva was taken aback. "Remus? He's my best friend, but he doesn't need me…he was doing fine before he met me…right?" Eva asked, although there was little conviction in her argument anymore. _Did she _have_ to use Remus against me?_ she wondered while another part of her whispered, _what's wrong with you? How could you have forgotten your best friend at a time like this?_

Maya shook her head. "That's his business, unfortunately. I can't tell you that. It's up to him to reveal his past to you when he chooses." Suddenly, Maya's eyes widened. "Eva, you have to go back now! If you stay here any longer, you won't be able to get back!"

"I…" Eva was torn.

"You're too young to join me here," Maya said gently. "We'll meet again, but hopefully when you're much, much older…"

"And you'll still be watching me? You're not going to leave me?" Eva asked uncertainly.

"No. Never," Maya said. "Now go. And be sure to ask Remus more about his star gazing abilities…and tell him I told you to ask."

"But why…?"

"Go!" Maya said.

"Okay…" Suddenly, Eva's back ached like someone was pounding it and her lungs were searing. She gasped for breath. Her eyes locked with Maya's, terrified.

Maya took her hand. "Don't worry, darling…you'll be okay."

Then Eva blacked out for a second time.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva coughed violently, water shooting out of her lungs. She rolled away from whoever was hitting her back and coughed up all the water in her lungs. Her eyes watered as she gasped for breath.

"Molly!" Jordan said, placing a hand on her back. "Are you okay?"

"That's a…" she coughed "…stupid question, Jordan."

"Sorry," he said.

Eva turned and collapsed on her back, staring up at the sky. A face entered her vision—a white face with red hair and a beard. Rush.

Eva cried out and scrambled away. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was following you," Rush said, standing.

Jordan moved forward, trying to block Eva from Rush.

"I wanted to congratulate you on your victory!" Rush laughed. "It was truly a splendid race!"

Eva was confused. "You're happy for us? But you lost."

Rush held out a hand to help her up. Eva took it and he lifted her easily to her feet.

"On my planet, our people pride themselves in seeing the bright side of life," Rush said. "I lost the race today, but I'll surely win tomorrow. _My_ ram's horn is always half-full!" He laughed again. Then he walked over where Eva's rocket seat was parked a little ways away and picked it up. Jumping onto his Star-racer, he said, "Come on. You must've had enough adventure for _one_ day! I'll take you back to your hanger."

Eva and Jordan looked at each other before climbing on. Rush quickly wrapped them up in blankets, and they sat down in front of him. As they flew through the fields back towards the hangers, Rush hummed a soothing tune. Jordan's eyes opened and closed and his head bobbed a couple of times before he leaned against Eva and fell asleep. "Mommy, I need a hug," he muttered.

Eva stared at him before smiling slightly. She looked up at the sky.

Spirit flew overhead. Eva's eyes widened and her mother's crash flashed in front of her eyes before she realized that it was just a bird. Eva sighed and leaned against Jordan. The sound of Rush humming put Eva to sleep.

**-.oOOo.-**

Koji entered Don Wei's office. Don looked up, surprised, snapping closed the box with the picture of him, Eva and Maya. "Koji, what is it?"

"Sir, Molly and Jordan are back," he said. "But…"

Don felt nervous. "But, what?"

"They're with Rush…"

"Today's opponent?" Don stood up. "Where are they?"

"Right outside the hanger," Koji said.

Don brushed passed him into the elevator. Koji jumped in before the door closed. He struggled to keep up with Don's fast pace. When they entered the pit, Jordan was wrapped up in a blanket, asleep, leaning against a wall. Molly was wrapped in another blanket, also asleep, in Rush's arms.

Don stopped for a split second, surprised, and then rushed forward. Both Molly and Jordan were soaking wet, he noticed.

Rush handed Molly over to Stan who placed her on the ground gently.

"What happened to them?" Don asked abruptly.

Rush turned to look at him. "They were exploring an ancient temple when it began to sink into the water," he said. "This one," he motioned to Jordan, "made it out all right, but Molly, here, almost drowned. Luckily, I got to her in time."

Don felt like he'd been dosed with cold water. "She almost drowned?"

Rush nodded. "Best keep an eye on her for a little while to make sure she's perfectly alright." Don looked up at him alarmed. "Don't worry; I don't think you have anything to worry about. But it's better to be safe than sorry."

Don nodded numbly. "Of course."

Rush jumped up onto his Star-racer. "Tell Molly I said good luck in your next race!" Then he started up his racer and headed toward his own hanger.

"You'd best get them to their rooms," Don said.

"Should we wake them up?" Koji asked.

"It sounds like they've had a long day," Don said. "We should probably let them sleep." Stan and Koji looked at each and then at Jordan, grimacing.

"That's gonna be fun," Stan muttered.

"Where's Remus?" Don asked, looking around. "He should be able to get Jordan to his room."

Stan and Koji looked at each other. "Well," Koji said nervously, "the thing is, we don't know where Remus is."

"You mean he isn't back yet?" Don asked surprised. Stan and Koji shook their heads. Don sighed. "And neither of you have the slightly clue as to his whereabouts?" Again they shook their heads.

"About whose whereabouts?"

All three looked up. They stared. Remus was standing there, looking out of it and…_drunk_. He took a step forward and stumbled. "Whoops," he laughed, "clumsy me…" Their eyes widened. He _was_ drunk!

"Remus, where have you been?" Don demanded.

"Eh…?" Remus asked blankly, sitting down heavily.

"Where…have…you…been?" Don repeated, his patience wearing thin.

"Out having a drink or two," Remus said. He swayed back and forth slightly, almost falling onto his side.

Don sighed, frustrated. "Remus, just how many drinks did you have?"

Remus held up both hands. Then he looked at them and placed them in his lap, appearing to be studying them very hard. "Hhmm…have you ever notice how funny hands look?"

"Remus, are you drunk?"

"Maaaaaybeeee…" Remus swayed back and forth and fell over onto his side. He chuckled and hiccupped.

"What on earth made you think that was a good idea?!" Don shouted. "What's wrong with you?"

Remus fell silent. "Everything." The plain, honest answer wasn't what any of them were expecting. "The Hunters killed my parents and won't stop 'till I'm dead, too."

A voice next to Don startled him. "Remus?" He looked down and saw Molly unwrapping herself from the blanket. She crawled forward and placed a hand on Remus' shoulder. "Remus, who are the Hunters?"

"The Lupanian," Remus hiccupped, "version of the KKK…" He slowly got to his feet, stumbled and fell.

Molly got her feet and tried to help support him but he shoved her off. She pulled back, looking hurt. "I'm just trying to help."

"I don't need your help," Remus said angrily as he tried to get up the stairs again. He fell. Then, poking his head through the bars of the railing, he threw up onto the pit floor.

Stan and Koji glared at Remus.

"I'll get him up to his room and then I'll clean that up," Molly said.

"No, no," Stan sighed, "I'll get it. You just make sure Remus is okay, alright?"

Molly nodded and then went over to Remus. She helped get him up the stairs and into the living area of the hanger.

Don watched them go, then turned to Jordan and shook him awake. Jordan got up, yawning, looking around blearily and clutching the blanket around him. He went to his room. Don sighed and went back to his office.

Sitting in his chair, he mulled over Remus actions. Drinking and getting drunk didn't seem like Remus…so what had happened to bring up enough pain to make him drink? And what had Molly and Jordan been doing in that temple in the first place! They had gone out looking for Remus. _I can't understand why they would think he was in an ancient temple,_ he thought angrily. _Of all the stupid things to do…_

Don tapped his finger against his desk. He was suddenly eager to talk to Eva if only to assure himself that she was safe and sound instead of here on Alwas nearly getting herself killed and doing reckless things like jumping onto the outside of moving Star-racers. He didn't care if he knew what to say to her anymore; he only hoped that she would be at the Stern Boarding School.

Don opened the box containing the picture of him, Eva and Maya—his most prized possession. He stared into the smiling face of his daughter and noticed many similarities between Eva and Molly. They both had the same eye color, the same hairstyle…in fact, if Molly didn't have the red in her hair…

_Please, let her be at the Stern Boarding School,_ he thought.

Soon enough, nine o'clock rolled around and Don turned on the communication computer. "Is there an available communication link to Earth?" he asked just to be sure.

"Yes," the computer replied, "all communication links are currently open."

"Very well…please contact…the Stern Boarding School."

_**Chapter preview: Silent Like Spirit **– Don was lost in his thoughts as he headed back to his office. He was passing Stan's room when he paused. There was a sort of…scratching noise…like something was ripping at a wall…_

_A whimper and a whine made it clear it was coming from Remus' room. Don hesitated; he didn't know if he should go in and possibly risk being attacked by Remus while he was still in the thralls of a nightmare or did he walk away and leave Remus to deal with it himself?_

"_Sir?" asked a surprised voice. "What are you still doing up?"_

_Don looked down the hall in front of him to see Eva approaching. "I could ask you the same thing," he replied. _

"_I…I couldn't sleep," Eva replied sheepishly. _

"_Oh? Why not?" Don asked, trying not to sound concerned. _

"_It's nothing," Eva said, looking at Remus' door. "I was just…dreaming about today is all."_

Dreaming about drowning, more like it,_ Don thought. He opened his mouth when Remus cried out in his sleep. _

"_NO! No, Mom, come back, don't leave me, please!" _

_Eva immediately opened the door and ran inside. Don followed her a split second later to see Remus had fallen off the bed onto the floor, caught up in his blankets with deep claw marks on the wall next to the bed. _

Yeah, okay, so maybe Remus' drunkenness wasn't quite realistic, but…I tried…

This isn't my favorite chapter so I'm not going to ask for nine reviews, only that _someone_ reviews.


	15. Silent Like Spirit

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Oban Star-racers. I still own Lupanians and Jubalins (who will probably make another appearance in this story soon enough).

Okay, who likes the idea of this story continuing after Oban? Cause right now, that's how I'm thinking it'll go. Just wondering what you all think. Yes, I _do_ respect your opinions. Amazing, isn't it?

Moon and Star

Ch.15: Silent Like Spirit

"Opening link," the computer said. A hologram screen appeared above the desk.

A purple-haired woman came into view, looking angry. "Who is this? Boarders can_not_ receive calls at this hour!"

"I'm sorry," he said, realizing that nine o'clock on Alwas was probably _much_ later on Earth. "I'm calling…long distance."

The woman adjusted her glasses. "They _all_ say that." She was clearly annoyed. "Who do you want to talk to? The students are all asleep."

"I'd like to speak to Miss Eva Wei," Don said.

The woman laughed, surprising him. "Eva? What did she do? Steal from your shop? Leave her hotel room without paying for it?"

Don's stomach seemed to squirm. _What is she talking about?_ Deciding not to panic yet, he said, "It's just been a long time. I'm Eva's father, Mr. Wei."

The woman gasped. "Mr. Wei! Don't worry, we'll find your sweet Eva. I'm sure she's fine. And about those payments, I assure you, we were going to return them—"

"What are you talking about?" Don demanded nervously. _They don't know where she is? So then Molly…_

The woman gasped again. "You mean you haven't heard? On her birthday…she was up all night waiting for your call. By morning, she just ran off…"

The screen turned to static and then the connection broke. Don stood there silently for a moment to see if it reestablished itself but it didn't really matter.

"Eva…"

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus was running, the woods around him rising up forebodingly. The shadows that he used to see as hiding spots for watching prey were now the hiding spots for other hunters. The moon that illuminated animals and led to food was now a giant spotlight making it impossible to hide. Even his howl, which was supposed to bring aid, would only bring enemies.

Suddenly he was grabbed from behind, someone wrapping a hand around his muzzle. He kicked and clawed at the attacker's arm until a soothing voice broke through his panic.

"Relax, Remus, it's okay, I'm here," the voice said.

_Mommy!_ Remus thought. He wriggled around until he was facing her and clung to her. He rested his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes in relief. Her familiar scent, the sound of her voice, her soft fur…everything was going to be alright now.

A twig snapped, and his mother started to run; she moved like a shadow…so silently that she didn't make a sound no matter how fast she moved. After traveling half a mile, his mother started to inspect the trees closely. Finally she found one that was hollow at the base.

Remus looked at his mother confused as she set him down inside the tree. "Mom?"

"Stay here, Remus, okay?" his mother said gently. "You'll be safe here as long as you stay in the back, okay? Don't leave until I come and get you or you hear me howl."

"Okay, Mom," he said. "When will you come back?"

"…Soon, Remus," she said. "Soon." As she turned to leave, there was an odd look in her eyes.

Ten minutes later, Remus heard gunshots.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don walked down the stairs in the pit. Stan and Koji had cleaned up and put everything away already and were asleep, grateful for once that they didn't have any work to do. Don stopped in front of the Arrow, staring up at it.

_Eva waited all night for me to call…?_ he thought. _Why…? I'd never called before…_ That thought made his heart clench. The next realization didn't help either: he hadn't only let Eva down; he'd let down Maya as well.

He looked at the Arrow again, _really_ looked. It was so very similar to Maya's ship…

_Don looked on as a mechanic ran into the pit. "Good morning, sir," he said. _

"_Up here," said another mechanic, kneeling on top of the right reactor. The mechanic on the floor tossed it up to him. _

_Don watched as they started checking over Maya's ship, lost in lost about his plans for that night. _

"_A penny for your thoughts?"_

_He turned to her, absently. "Hm?" _

_Maya tilted her head to the side slightly, smiling. She took his hand in hers and pulled him closer. "I hope you haven't forgotten about our special date," she said in a low voice. _

_Don smiled. "Tonight's our anniversary," he said. "How could I forget about that?"_

_Maya laughed softly and they ran off, the two mechanics chuckling, one elbowing the other._

_That night, they went to a fancy restaurant. "Thank you," Don said as the waiter poured them wine. The waiter bowed to them and left. _

_Don and Maya watched the couples waltzing on the dance floor for a few minutes. Well, Maya did anyway; Don kept looking at Maya out of the corner of his eye. He had a feeling that she could tell even though she didn't look at him. She was beautiful in her red dress (not that she wasn't always beautiful) and was wearing a pair of crescent moon earrings that matched the tattoo on her cheek. _

_Maya looked back at him. "You've really pulled out all the stops tonight, haven't you?" _

"_I don't know what you mean," Don said. _

_The band started playing a new song. Don stood up and held out a hand to Maya. "May I have the pleasure, Madam Wei?"_

_Maya smiled, placing her hand in his. "You married a racer not a dancer. But if you want to take the risk…" She stood up and stepped around the table, leaning closer to him and whispered, "The truth is I've never actually waltzed before." _

"_Just follow me, Princess," he said. _

_She smiled, allowing him to lead her out onto the dance floor. He placed his other hand on her waist while she placed hers on his shoulder. "You still insist on calling me that? You know I'm no princess."_

_Don chuckled softly. "Now, what makes you say that?" _

_Obviously conscious of the people around them, Maya lowered her voice as she said, "Would a princess's favorite t-shirt be a Gir (1) shirt that says 'Yay, I'm gonna be sick?' Would her second favorite shirt be a Foamy the Squirrel (2) shirt that says 'someone oughta poke you in the eye with a hot French fry'?"_

"_Well, I never said you were a fairy tale princess," Don said. Then he added quickly, "But then again, I never really liked fairy tale princesses anyway. They always have to be rescued. Why can't they just save themselves?"_

"_Nice save, Don," Maya said, smiling. _

"_You know, I'd forgotten you had those shirts," Don said, ignoring it when Maya stumbled a bit. "It's been so long since you've worn them."_

"_I know," Maya said. She lapsed into silence for a moment as she concentrated on not stepping on Don's foot. She continued, " I stopped wearing them when Eva started learning how to read."_

"_Why?"_

"_What exactly about Foamy the Squirrel is a good influence?" Maya asked. _

"_Point taken," Don said just before she stepped on his foot. They stopped dancing for a moment. _

"_Oops, I told you," Maya said, smiling. _

"_You're doing just fine," Don assured her. They started to dance again. _

_They went back to the table when Don saw the waiter coming with their food. It was delicious. They ate, talked and even danced a couple more times. Before they knew it, it was quarter after ten._

_Maya sighed when she saw that. "We should probably head back."_

"_I told Stephanie we wouldn't be back until eleven," Don said. _

"_And it'll take us about forty-five minutes to get back," she said, standing up. Don conceded her point, paid the bill and they headed home. _

_After several minutes of comfortable silence, Maya looked at the radio. "Do you want to listen to music?" _

_Don glanced at her suspiciously. "Why? What did you have in mind?"_

_Maya shrugged. Don frowned. "Well, all right," he said. "As long as it isn't anything that screams constantly."_

"_Okay." Maya turned it on and pressed a button to switch it from the radio to a CD. Immediately, Wait and Bleed by Slipknot started playing. _

"_Maya," Don said, giving her a mild glare._

_Maya grinned. "But they don't scream_ constantly._" _

_Don rolled his eyes and switched it to Toby Keith. Maya stared at the radio for a moment before she switched it to UnderOath. _

_Don smirked, catching on. This was one of Maya's favorite games, especially since they had such a vast difference in musical preferences. They would take turns switching between bands. The first one to find a song they would both listen to won. The only rule was that each person had to chose a different band. For example, if person one chose a song by Evanescence, person two couldn't chose another song by Evanescence, but person one could chose a song by Evanescence again._

_Don switched tactics and tried to remember which slots Maya had put her CDs in last time (and remember which ones were bands that _wouldn't_ drive him completely crazy). He hit a slot button and Motive's Rock 'n' Roll Terrorist started playing._

"_No fair," Maya said and switched to a different band and hit the next button. Bring Me to Life by Evanescence started playing. _

_They went on like this for about minute before Maya changed the song to Savin' Me by Nickelback. _

"_Cheater," Don mumbled, keeping his eyes on the road. _

_Maya smiled. "I win." _

_For the rest of the ride they switched between songs and bands although Maya exchanged her Slipknot and UnderOath CDs for two of Don's, which Don appreciated. When they got home, they entered quietly; Eva was certainly asleep by now and they didn't want to wake her. Don took off his jacket and set it over the back of the couch. He turned to face Maya as she untied his tie and undid the first two buttons of his shirt. He placed his hands on her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder. _

"_I wish every night could be like this," she said softly. _

"_Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it," Don replied, knowing it was a corny line even as he said it._

_Maya kissed him, and he closed his eyes and kissed her back. After a moment, a rustling startled them and they pulled away, looking over at a doorway leading into the room. Eva stood there, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She brightened when she saw who it was. "Mommy! Daddy!"_

_  
Don walked over to her. "Look whose here. It's my little champion." He picked her up as Stephanie, the babysitter, came into the room. _

"_She's really alive tonight," she said. _

_  
Maya came over as Don asked Eva, "Shouldn't you be in bed?"_

"_How could you abandon me?" Eva pouted._

"_My poor baby," Maya said, placing her hand on Eva's cheek. "It's okay; we're back."_

_Eva looked up at her, and Don could tell they were instantly forgiven. Stephanie left the room as they stood there silently, looking at each other. Don turned to Maya. "You've made me the happiest man in the world." _

_Maya looked surprised at this statement, but only for a moment. Then she smiled and laughed softly in only the way she could after a declaration like that. Eva started giggling and Don joined them, tears of joy in his eyes._

Tears hit the floor, and Don raised a hand to wipe them away. The pain was back again; it hurt so much… But this time he had to bear it. He couldn't fall apart again, and hurt Eva even more.

Slowly, he headed back into the living quarters of the hanger and towards his room.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva sat outside on the roof of the hanger, staring up at the stars. She quickly located her mother's and watched it for several minutes.

_Mommy…_

Eva sighed. Her mother had told her that her father still loved her and that he knew she wasn't who she claimed to be. That brought up the question of whether or not she should try to tell her father who she was again.

_Mom would want me to,_ she thought. _But…_ She sighed again and stood up, heading back into the hanger.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don was lost in his thoughts as he headed back to his office. He was passing Stan's room when he paused. There was a sort of…scratching noise…like something was ripping at a wall…

A whimper and a whine made it clear it was coming from Remus' room. Don hesitated; he didn't know if he should go in and possibly risk being attacked by Remus while he was still in the thralls of a nightmare or did he walk away and leave Remus to deal with it himself?

"Sir?" asked a surprised voice. "What are you still doing up?"

Don looked down the hall in front of him to see Eva approaching. "I could ask you the same thing," he replied.

"I…I couldn't sleep," Eva replied sheepishly.

"Oh? Why not?" Don asked, trying not to sound concerned.

"It's nothing," Eva said, looking at Remus' door. "I was just…dreaming about today is all."

_Dreaming about drowning, more like it,_ Don thought. He opened his mouth when Remus cried out in his sleep.

"NO! No, Mom, come back, don't leave me, please!"

Eva immediately opened the door and ran inside. Don followed her a split second later to see Remus had fallen off the bed onto the floor, caught up in his blankets with deep claw marks on the wall next to the bed.

"Remus," Eva said, trying to hold him still with one hand and untangle him from the sheet with the other, "wake up!"

"Ah! Molly! I don't think that's such a good idea," Don said, striding forward.

Eva jumped back with a startled cry as Remus ripped his way out. Don grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back to the doorway. Remus scrambled to the far left corner of the room and brought his knees to his chest. He sat there, shivering, eyes wide.

Eva started to walk toward him. Don tried to pull her back, but she wrenched out his grip and glared at him.

"Molly," Don whispered harshly, "don't go near him!"

Eva just turned around and walked to Remus slowly. She knelt down in front of him. "Remus?"

Remus looked up and whined.

"Remus, are you okay? You sounded like you were having a nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?" she asked soothingly.

Remus lowered his eyes to the floor. She was certain he was going to say no when he whispered, "We were out that night because of me… They were teaching me to hunt. We weren't even supposed to be out that night… They were going to wait until the full moon when we transformed anyway…But I couldn't wait…I was just to excited to learn… They decided to go out a couple nights early…"

His words were still slightly slurred but nowhere near as badly as before; that, however, told her that Remus was still wasn't completely sober and that the alcohol might be loosening his tongue. She decided it would be best to get him back to sleep and wait until morning to ask him more when he was fully in control of what he said.

Eva gently took Remus' hands in her own and tugged him to his feet. She led him over to his bed and coaxed him to lie down. Then she picked up the remains of his blanket and frowned at it.

"Are there any extra?" she asked Don.

"In the closet, maybe," Don said.

Eva walked over and opened it. There was one on the shelf at the top of the closest. She pulled it out and walked back over to Remus and draped it over him. He curled up into a ball underneath it.

She sat down on the edge of Remus' bed and pulled her CD player off her belt. She popped it open to see what was inside before turning the volume way down and closing it. Then she turned it on. Missing by Evanescence started to play.

Remus' eyes drifted closed. Eva continued to sit there until she was sure Remus was asleep. She let the song end and then stood up and left the room. Don followed her out and closed the door behind him.

Don hesitated, watching Eva head toward her room. "Molly," he called softly. Eva stopped and turned to look at him. "Goodnight."

She looked surprised, but replied, "Goodnight." Then she turned and left.

**-.oOOo.-**

The next morning, Remus awoke to a pounding headache. _Uh, god, someone shoot me now, please…_ He forced himself to get up and get dressed before heading out toward the kitchen. _Maybe some food will help…? Oh, yeah, I'm the cook…_

He entered the kitchen to find everyone sitting around the table, eating toast and juice. The smell of burnt eggs still lingered in the air, although he was willing to bet that he was the only one who could still smell it. When he had entered, everyone had looked up; an uncomfortable silence followed.

"Who tried to cook the eggs?" Remus asked tiredly.

Eva and Jordan glanced at each other before raising their hands.

"Eh…Shoulda figured," he muttered before walking over to the sink and taking the plates out of it. Once that was done, he started to fill it with water. "So you can't cook, Don?"

"I can," Don said. "I just choose not to."

"Not what you said before," Remus said, rubbing his temples. "And you too, E? Didn't make you take a cooking class in that boarding school of yours?" The strange look Don suddenly had on his face didn't escape Remus despite the fact he desperately wanted a bullet in his head—anything to stop the migraine.

Jordan looked at Eva, surprised. "You went to a boarding school?"

Eva's grip on her toast tightened. "Yes," she said stiffly.

"What was it like? Why were you going to one of those instead of a public school?"

Eva's toast broke in half. Jordan looked surprised at the outburst of anger. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Yes," Eva growled.

"What? I don't get it," Jordan said. "What's so bad about a boarding school?"

Remus glanced over his shoulder at Jordan who was looking around in confusion at Stan, Koji and Rick. Don's eyes were fixed on Eva. "Leave it, Jordan," he said.

Jordan turned to Remus. "What's going on?"

"That's for E to tell you when she's ready," Remus replied. "Let's just say that she didn't go there under the most pleasant of circumstances and leave it at that, shall we?"

"Why, what happened?" Jordan asked, genuinely concerned.

There was a moment of silence before Eva said quietly, "Thanks for your concern, Jordan, but that's between me and my father." Don turned his gaze to his plate.

Jordan must've realized that he wasn't going to get her to open up anytime soon because he let the subject drop.

Remus turned the water off. He put his hand in to make sure it was freezing cold…then he plunged his head in. He stayed under until he needed to breath and then shot back up. Feeling a bit better, he shook his head like a dog, spraying water everywhere. However, shaking his head only made the headache worse.

"Oh, man, someone shoot me, please, I'll give you the gun…" he moaned.

When no one was forth coming with a response, Remus growled. "Why can't at least _one_ of you hate me?"

"Sorry, Remus," Eva said, smiling, "but you're much to fun to have around."

Remus looked at her incredulously. "Right…just remember that you'll get yours."

Eva smirked as if to say 'bring it on.' "Fine," Remus said, "I will."

Eva took a bite of her toast. "I look forward to it."

"So, who are we flying against today?" Jordan asked.

"Some guy named Spirit, I think," Rick said. "He doesn't sound so tough. But don't let your guard down, Little Mouse. …Little Mouse?"

Remus took a step forward. Eva had seemed to completely freeze for a moment, a number of emotions running across her face. He glanced at Don to see him narrow his eyes in anger…and fear.

_What's going on here?_

**-.oOOo.-**

Stan and Koji were running all the checks for the race, and Jordan was checking out the turret. The race was due to start in fifteen minutes. Remus and Eva were currently in the bathroom: Remus was throwing up in toilet; Eva was telling him he was a moron for drinking in the first place.

"I didn't mean too," Remus whined. Then his stomach heaved, and he threw up again. "Shouldn't this all have happened last night?"

"It did," Eva said dryly. "It's just happening again. How much did you drink?"

"I don't know," Remus said pathetically. "I lost count after the third…or the fourth…possible the fifth…"

Eva sighed in frustration.

"I seriously didn't mean—" Remus threw up again. "I didn't mean to… I didn't even know what it was. It was only around the third that I started to feel weird…"

"And yet you had more, then _knowing_ what it was."

"I know…I'm a moron…"

"Good. A lesson has been learned then."

"Shut up." Remus dry heaved. He wiped the tears from his eyes as he flushed the toilet and stood up, grabbing a washcloth and wiping his mouth on it. He promptly dropped it in the trashcan.

He left the bathroom with Eva right behind him.

"Remus! Molly!" They both froze and turned to stare at Don who had just come around the corner. "What were you two doing in there?" Don fixed a death glare on Remus. _Oh, so he finally _has_ figured it out. _

"We were just…" Eva started.

"I was throwing up again," Remus admitted. "E was telling me I'm a moron. That's all."

Don stared at Remus for a moment longer before looking at Eva who almost flinched. "Is this true?"

"Yes, sir," Eva said. They were saved from further questioning when Jordan appeared behind Don.

"What are you guys doing?" Jordan said. "We need to get to the race!"

Eva and Remus sprinted past Don and Jordan at breakneck speed almost hitting the opposite wall as they skidded around the corner. They arrived in the pit and hit the railing.

"Please tell me he's not following us," Remus said, out of breath.

"No," Eva said, looking over her shoulder.

"That was scary," Remus said. "For a moment, I thought he was going to kill me."

"Why does he suddenly care?" Eva asked. "He wouldn't have a few days ago."

"Er…"

Eva glared at him suspiciously. "Remus, what did you do?"

"Nothing," he answered. He jumped a mile high when the door opened. "OH MY GOD, DON'T KILL ME!"

Jordan looked at him, confused. "What?"

Remus sighed in relief. "Oh good, it's only you; for a moment, I thought you were—"

Don appeared behind Jordan. Remus paled faster than Eva had ever seen anyone do and screamed, leaping over the railing to the pit floor. He dove behind a pile of crates in the corner.

"Uh…do I want to know?" Jordan asked as he and Eva started walking down the stairs.

"Remus was throwing up again, and I was telling him what an idiot he had been for drinking. When we came out of the bathroom, Don Wei was there and apparently he thought me and Remus were doing something inappropriate," Eva said.

"Well…were you really?"

Eva smacked Jordan on the side of the head. "Of course not! We're just friends!"

"Well, I mean, you two are always hanging out together…It's not surprising that some people thing you might be a couple," Jordan said cautiously.

"How many people?" Eva asked dangerously.

"Only a few…"

"Jordan," Eva growled.

"…The whole team."

"WHAT?!"

Jordan flinched, putting his arms up protectively. "Please don't hurt me, please? Don't shoot the messenger, remember?"

"That only applies if the messenger doesn't believe the message," Eva said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Okay, point taken," Jordan said and hurried into the turret.

Eva rolled the ladder over to the Arrow and climbed into the cockpit. Remus crawled out from behind the boxes and looked around before running over and pulling the ladder away from the Arrow. He looked up at the cockpit; he winked and gave Eva a thumbs up. She repeated the gesture.

As she started up the Arrow, she looked behind her at the balcony. Don Wei was standing there, gripping the railing. The connection screen to the turret appeared next to her.

"So, Molly, according to Rush's rule, is your rams horn half full or half empty?"

"Full," she replied. "Definitely full to the brim!"

Jordan smiled at her. "All right! Let's get out there and kick some alien butt!" The screen disappeared as she flew out of the hanger.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don saw Eva glance back at him through the glass of the cockpit. Then she turned around and flew out of the hanger. He gripped the railing tightly. He shouldn't have let her go. Maybe he could still call her back…? No, he didn't even know if this was the same alien that Maya had been racing. But then again…it was still one of the Filhs…

Don let go of the railing and clasped his hands behind his back. "You'd think I'd be more relaxed by now," he commented to Rick. "But it's just the opposite. The higher we climb, the more I fear our fall."

**-.oOOo.-**

The Arrow flew into the arena and landed, shutting off. In the stands, Rush turned to Prince Aikka who was sitting next to him. "Prince Aikka, did you come to support the Earth team, too?"

"I don't make it a habit of befriending opponents," Aikka replied coolly. "It can lead to disappointment."

"Hm." Rush looked back at the Arrow.

"Next we call forth Spirit, ambassador of the Fihls!"

Everyone turned to look at the other entrance. No one came out.

"Looks like our reputation proceeds us," Jordan said smugly. "He didn't even bother to show up."

Eva raised an eyebrow as she looked at the entrance out of the corner of her eye. Where was Spirit?

After a moment a black humanoid figure walked into the arena, a long, silver coat billowing around its legs as a gust of wind kicked up. Eva's eyes widened. "No…"

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus and Rick looked at Don in surprise as he clenched his fist. He was growling under his breath.

"Hey, Don, is something wrong?" Rick asked.

Don didn't answer. He continued to glare murderously at the alien. Remus, who had long since gotten so used to the smells around him that his brain no longer picked up on scents like it used to, suddenly felt that part flare to life. A strong smell of rage and fear assaulted him. He sneezed violently.

"Bless you," Koji said absently as he checked over something.

"Thanks," Remus mumbled. He looked back at Don. Whatever was going on, it couldn't end well.

**-.oOOo.-**

"Correction," Jordan said cockily, "looks like Spirit forgot something. Like his Star-racer."

Eva felt a shiver run up and down her spine as Spirit grasped his coat. He threw it off and into the air, revealing disproportionate, awkward limbs and something vaguely resembling a torso. He looked up at the cockpit, and Eva got a good look at the emotionless white mask with blue eyes that was his face. He got down on all fours.

"No! It can't be…" Eva muttered, her eyes wide.

"_Everyone please be seated," a voice announced over the many speakers in the stadium. "The final round of the first Interplanetary Competition is about to start."_

_Eva ran into the pit area and stared up at her mother's ship. "Wow…super cool!" she whispered. She walked in a little further, looking around for her mother and father. She quickly spotted them. _

_Maya picked up her helmet and turned to look at Don as he said, "I'm counting on you, Maya, but don't be careless out there. Remember, it's only a race."_

_Maya raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever known me to be careless, honey?"_

"_Well, yes, I—"_

_Maya cut him off with a quick kiss and then put on her helmet. Eva knew what the helmet meant. Her mother was going to fly soon! _

"_Mommy, Mommy!" she called, running forward. Her parents turned to face her. "Please take me with you! I want to ride in your Star-racer!" Maya picked her up and spun her around in the air. Eva laughed happily._

_Then Maya kissed her on the cheek. "I'd love to, Eva, but you know I can't."_

_Eva pouted. _

"_Next time it'll be just you and me," Maya said with a wink. _

"_You promise?" Eva asked. _

_Maya nodded. "Promise." She held up her hand. _

_Eva brightened and placed her hand flat against her mothers. As the signal sounded, Maya folded her fingers over Eva's. Don and Eva turned to look out at the track, hearing the signal. Maya smiled and handed Eva over to Don. She walked over to her ship, pulling her gloves on tighter. Eva laughed and waved. Maya turned around, waving back and blew them a kiss. Then she climbed up in the ladder into her Star-racer and flew out onto the track. Don and Eva quickly went out to watch the race; they stood in the first row, waiting for the race to start. _

_Eva looked up Don. "Mommy's going to win, isn't she, Daddy?" _

"_Of course she is, Eva," Don said, smiling at her. "You know Mommy's never lost a race."_

"_We welcome our first champion, Maya! She'll be defending Earth's colors against Spirit of the Filhs." _

_A coal black humanoid figure walked out onto the track. As it passed by Eva and Don, Eva saw it's deep blue eyes turn to look at her. Instantly, she clutched her father's shirt, trembling. Don held her tighter, frowning. _

_The figure threw off its coat, revealing a strange body. Eva gasped as it got down on all fours. _

Numbly, Eva fell forward, her head hitting the handlebars of her rocket seat. "It's him…"

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus watched, surprised, as Spirit transformed into a bird-like creature.

"That ship," Don breathed. "It's impossible."

"What it is? Have you seen it before?" Rick asked.

Don's eyes narrowed. "I know that wicked creature."

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva gripped the handles tightly. "No, no, no, no!" She looked up and glared at Spirit who was hovering next to the Arrow. "You will not escape me this time, Spirit, that's a promise."

The gate dropped, and they both shot forward; Eva took the lead with Spirit close behind.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don looked at the floor as he addressed Rick. "I was a manager before I took on you, Rick," he said. "A married man with a wife and young daughter."

Stan and Koji looked at each other suddenly before looking at Remus. Remus shrugged. They went back to their work, but it was obvious to Remus that they were keenly listening.

"The death of my first champion turned my world upside down," Don said, closing his eyes as if in pain. "I cut all links to my past in order to survive… That champion…was my wife. Her name was Maya."

"Maya!" Rick said surprised. "She was one of the greatest Star-racer pilots ever!" He looked back to the screen. "That alien…that was who she was racing the day of her crash. How could I have forgotten _that_ ship?"

"You know, I can't believe everyone's missed that," Remus commented. "Am I the only one who put Maya _Wei_ and Don _Wei_ together? Hm?" (3)

But at that moment their attention was brought back to the race.

**-.oOOo.-**

Spirit pulled ahead but Eva sped the Arrow up and pushed past him. She looked over her shoulder. "Coward!" She hit the brakes. Spirit almost collided with the Arrow. She pulled along side him and tried to slam into him; Spirit pulled up—Jordan quickly switched the turret just before the Arrow hit the wall.

**-.oOOo.-**

"Hull protection down to seventy percent!" Stan said.

"Molly, I want you to race with extreme caution. This alien is _very_ dangerous," Don said, with a hint of fear. _You should know that as well as I do…_ He had regretted his decision not to keep her from racing as soon as he had figured out that this was, in fact, the same Filh Maya had been racing, but by that time it had been too late. He had hoped that Eva would be more cautious than she normally was, but it looked like she was taking more risks. He didn't get it.

"What's going on?" Stan asked as Eva lashed out at Spirit again.

"Turn on the two way communication," Remus said. "I think she's turned her end off so we can't hear her. We need to get into the cockpit."

"On it," Koji said, typing away furiously. "Got it!"

"Molly," came Jordan's voice, "what's going on up there? Just drive, preferably in a straight line. _I'll _protect us!"

"We don't have a choice, Jordan," Eva said. "If we don't get him, _he'll_ get _us!_"

Don's heart sank like a stone.

"What are you talking about?"

"This creature is evil," Eva said furiously. "We have to get rid of it!"

Don felt like he'd been doused with cold water. _She couldn't really…she wouldn't…_

**-.oOOo.-**

Jordan started firing at Spirit; Spirit sped up and disappeared. Jordan looked at his screen for the arrow to point him in the right direction, but the arrow was only spinning around and around. "I don't have anything on my screens."

Eva looked in front of her and gasped. Spirit was standing on the right reactor. She immediately started doing barrel rolls, one right after the other without stopping. Spirit didn't even so much as twitch. He was still there, his emotionless mask of a face looking at her.

"He's on the right reactor," she said. "Jordan, do something!"

Jordan turned the turret to face Spirit and started firing. The lasers went right passed him.

"Forget it, Molly, I can't touch him from down here," Jordan said.

Eva glared at Spirit furiously; then she spotted a bridge up ahead.

**-.oOO.-**

"I guess I'll have to deal with you myself," Eva growled, causing a shiver run up and down Don's spine. He'd never heard anyone so angry and the fact that it was his daughter only made it ten times worse. "I don't care what happens to me…as long as you disappear forever." Don's eyes widened; his heart skipped a beat.

"Molly, don't do it!" he said as he saw the Arrow started to fly higher; there was a bridge coming up. She wouldn't…

"Eva!" Remus shouted.

The Arrow smashed into the bridge; it flipped 'head over heels' and hit the ground before rising again and hitting the wall. Finally, Eva managed to get it under control. Black smoke was trailing behind both reactors. Spirit flew passed.

"Molly, stop this," Don pleaded. Eva only flew faster.

Don opened the communication link to the turret. "Jordan, I need your help! You have to try to reach her! Jordan?"

Jordan's straps had broken, and he was lying unconscious on the floor of the turret.

Don didn't know what to do; Eva was going to get herself killed! He shouldn't have let her race; he should've stopped her…

Eva caught up with Spirit. Don began to pray to whoever was listening that she made it out alive.

"Eva, please, stop!" Remus begged. "Please, listen to me; don't do this!"

Don looked at Remus; the poor boy was close to tears and looking terrified.

"Koji," Rick said, "what data do you have on Molly's physical condition?"

_That's not going to help you, _Don thought.

"She appears okay, but her brain activity is off the chart! She's not just _angry_, she's gone completely off the deep end!" Koji exclaimed.

Don looked at Remus again almost as though hoping he would know what to do. Remus was her best friend, wasn't he?

"Eva, stop! Do you think your mother would've wanted this?"

Eva completely ignored him.

"She's not listening to me!" Remus said desperately.

"Then who's she going to listen to?" Don asked.

"I don't know," Remus said, clasping his hands behind his neck. "I don't know…" He got down on his hands and knees and bowed his head, muttering something rapidly. Don knelt down beside him, placing a hand on his back. Remus looked up at him. "What?"

"You've got to do something; you're the only one she'll listen to," Don pleaded.

"Haven't you been paying attention?!" Remus shouted. "I've _been_ trying! She's _won't_ listen!" Remus looked at the screen and back to Don quickly. "She might listen to you, though. You've figured out who she really is, right?"

Don nodded, casting his eyes to the floor.

"Then _you_ do something! If anything, she's going to listen to you!"

"She hasn't been listening to me, either!" Don said angrily.

"Because you keep acting like you don't know who she is!" Remus shouted, ignoring the fact that everyone was staring at them. "Call her by her real name and act like her father instead of her manager! Maybe _then_ you'll get through to her!"

"Whoa, hold up a sec," Stan said. He pointed to Don. "_He's_ her _father_? When did that happen?"

"Fifteen years ago, moron," Remus snapped.

"Hey, don't snap at me!" Stan shot back. "All I know is that Mr. Wei's hated Molly since she got here and now I find out he's her _father_? I want to know just what's going on here!"

"Now's not the time," Don said. "It's too long of a story."

"Molly's real name is Eva, her mother died in a race against Spirit, Don abandoned Eva at a boarding school for ten years and never contacted her, Eva broke out to see him, he didn't recognize her, she wasn't going to let him leave her behind again so she sort of hitched a ride and I was going with her, when Rick crashed, she seized the opportunity, because if her father wasn't going to love her as his daughter, maybe he would as a pilot, and now she's gone completely nuts trying to get revenge for her mother's death which started to life rolling completely downhill into hell," Remus said without stopping for breath or pausing between sentences. He started panting.

"Didn't seem that long to me," Stan said.

"It's a lot more complicated than that," Don said, "but, yes, I guess those _are_ the basics…"

"Sir, you've got to do something!" Koji said. "She's going to get herself killed, and probably Jordan, too!"

"I…I can't," Don said, looking at the floor. "She hates me. She wouldn't listen to me no matter _what_ I said."

Remus bowed his head again and started talking quickly. This time he didn't bother muttering. "Spirit of the Moon, I humbly ask you protect Eva, a friend of your children, a part of your children's family. Calm her mind and let her think clearly. Spirit of the Sun, I, a child of the Moon, humbly and without expectance of receiving my wish, ask that you protect Eva, one of your children and a special friend of mine, a part of the family of the Moon. Calm her mind and let her think clearly, that is all I ask." He began to repeat that prayer over and over again, clutching the crescent moon pendent around his neck and winding the chain around his fingers.

Don looked up at the screen. Eva was still chasing after Spirit. _She wouldn't listen to me…she hates me…_ The Arrow shot forward, but Spirit nimbly dodged and flapped his wings, gaining a lead. They flew into a tunnel.

"Eva, please stop this!" Don pleaded.

"What?" Eva asked. She appeared on the control room screen.

Don swallowed nervously and said, "This isn't what your mother would've wanted."

Eva was staring at him, caught of guard. "What…what do you mean…?"

Don took a deep breath and said, "I know…that you are my daughter."

Eva's eyes widened in shock.

"This isn't what your mother would've wanted, Eva," Don said. Then he pleaded again, "Please stop this."

Eva's hands relaxed on the handlebars, and the Arrow 2 began to slow down. Don sighed in relief.

"Uh…I, uh…" Eva said. Then she looked up; Spirit flew up out of nowhere and landed on the windshield of the cockpit, wrapping himself around it, blocking her vision.

"Eva!" Don cried.

Eva looked around, seeing nothing but black. Then a white mask appeared in front of her, growing larger until it took up the front of the windshield. "Don't come near me, you murderer!" she shouted.

The Arrow slammed into a canyon wall, then the ground, the wall again… There was a rock jutting up from the ground. The Arrow smashed through it. The second time, however, it wasn't so lucky. The left reactor was torn clean off. The cockpit and the right reactor smashed into the canyon wall, bounced off and forward into the other side of the canyon, and then hit the ground.

Don saw the cockpit torn off from the right reactor and the windshield shattered. Then the screen turned to static.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva groaned. She'd been tossed out of the cockpit and was laying face down several feet away. She raised her head slightly. "I did…what I had to do…" Then she gasped when she saw Spirit hovering in the air nearby. She raised herself up. "But…" She passed out and fell against a rock.

**-.oOOo.-**

"Eva!" Don cried. "Eva, can you hear me? Please answer me! EVA!"

Stan turned around. "The…the signal is dead, sir."

"I called for the rescue team," Koji added quickly. "They're on their way."

Don stood, staring at the screen. Rick grabbed a chair and pulled it up behind Don.

"Hey, Don, I'm sure she's fine," Rick said, placing a hand on Don's shoulder and gently pushing him into the chair. "Hasn't she always?"

Remus was still on his hands and knees, staring at the screen in the same state of shock Don seemed to be in. "Shut up, Rick," he said softly. "Just shut up…"

Don placed his head in his hands, trembling. "Spirit…you can't have ruined my life twice…" He shook with anger and fear as everyone looked away.

**-.oOOo.-**

Spirit transformed back to his humanoid figure and fell to the ground. Landing on his feet, he paused before walking toward Eva. A screech made him look up as Prince Aikka jumped off G'dar's back and stood in front of Eva, dagger at the ready.

"You've won the race, Spirit," he said. "You have no reason to harm the girl."

Spirit put his hands up defensively, and, surprised, Aikka brought the dagger down a bit. Spirit walked forward. Confused, Aikka let him pass. Spirit nodded to Aikka as he did so and knelt down in front of Eva, placing a hand on her head.

A yellow aura came from Spirit's hand, rippling like water after a rock was thrown in. A memory played through Spirit's mind.

"_Daddy, I can't see!"_

"_Okay, Eva, time for a piggy back. There. That better?"_

"_Oh! I see her! She's winning! She's winning!"_

_Spirit flew closer to the ship, pulled ahead…and then it exploded._

Spirit closed his eyes and concentrated harder.

"Mo…mmy…" Eva whispered.

_The reactor was sparking and oil was dripping from it. Spirit flew closer, seeking to help her, but Maya saw him, shook her head and waved him away. As he flew ahead, the ship exploded. _

A tear trailed down Eva's face. Spirit stroked her hair before standing, a shiny blue tear on his own face. Then he transformed and flew off to finish the race. Aikka watched him go, and then knelt down beside Eva. A moment later, he heard the alarms of the rescue team.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don stood up as the alien nurse entered the waiting room. "May we go in now?" he asked anxiously.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but not yet. However, your gunner has woken up. He asked to see someone called Remus?"

Remus stood up. "I'm here. How's he doing? And Eva?"

"They'll both be fine," she said. "I'll take you to see him."

Remus nodded and followed her. When they arrived at Jordan's room, the nurse pushed aside the curtains blocking him from view and walked inside with Remus right behind her.

Jordan was lying in bed, a bandage around his head and his arm in a sling. He turned to look at as they entered. "Hey, Remus," he said. "How's it going?"

"Fine," Remus said. "You're awake. …We're still waiting on E, though. The nurse says she'll be fine, but they won't let us see her."

Jordan tried to sit up, then hissed in pain and lowered himself back onto the bed. "But they said she'll be fine right?"

"Right."

"What happened, exactly?" Jordan asked. "I…I think I was knocked out half way through."

"Well," Remus said hesitantly. "Let's see…you missed out on a lot actually. Eva continued to try to kill Spirit, everyone found out her name is really Eva and that her mother, Maya, was a Star-racer pilot, one of the best, actually, and that she was killed in a race against Spirit ten years ago. Plus, you missed out on the revelation that Don Wei is E's father."

Jordan bolted into a sitting position before he could stop himself. He cried out in pain and fell back against the bed. "Oh, that smarts."

"To say the least," Remus said.

"Yeah," Jordan said painfully. "One way to put it."

They were both silent for a moment before Jordan spoke.

"So…Don Wei is Molly's father? When did that happen?"

Remus sighed. "Once again, fifteen years ago."

"I kinda figured that," Jordan said. "I meant, what's the story? They seem to really hate each other."

Remus told Jordan the same exact thing he'd told Stan, Koji and Rick. "I mean, it's gotta be more complicated than that, but that's the basics, anyway."

Jordan nodded. "No wonder she didn't want to talk about her boarding school."

"Hhmm…"

The nurse entered the room again. "Excuse me, but I have to ask you to leave. Mr. Wilde needs his rest."

"Of course. I'll see you later, Jordan."

"You can count on it," Jordan said, giving him a thumbs up and wink…or was that a wince? "Let me know as soon as Molly's…I mean, Eva's okay, alright?"

"Sure thing," Remus said.

"Oh, wait a second!"

Remus turned around. "Yes?"

"How long have you known that Molly was really Eva?" Jordan asked. "That's why you were always calling her 'E', isn't it?"

"But of course," Remus said. "And I've known since we first met."

"She told you but not us?" Jordan asked incredulously.

"Well, I was always friendly towards her," Remus said. "Where as you needed some time, no offence. And she didn't tell me. I just knew. I'll explain it later, but for now just chalk it up to heightened Lupanian senses."

Jordan nodded. Remus nodded back and left the room with a small wave of his hand.

**-.oOOo.-**

It was an hour later that the nurse said Eva could have visitors, but she warned them at she wasn't awake. "Only two at a time," she said.

Don stood immediately. The others all glanced at each other and then at Remus. Remus stood up, looking sorely tempted to go…then shook his head and motioned for Rick.

"You go," he said. "I'll take my turn next."

"You sure?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Remus said, sitting back down.

Rick nodded to Remus and the nurse lead them both to Eva's bed. She was asleep with a bandage wrapped around her lower arm, on her cheek and one on her temple. The blankets were pulled up over her chest. She looked to be fast asleep.

Don and Rick sat down in chairs on opposite sides of the bed and just watched her for a moment. Don placed his hand over hers.

"So…" Rick said. "What _exactly_ has been going on?"

Don shook his head. "I'll tell you later. I want to explain it to Eva first. She has the right."

"I respect that," Rick said. "But now I've got another question: what exactly is this Ultimate Prize you were pushing her so hard for?"

Don closed his eyes. "It doesn't matter. Nothing is worth risking her life. I'm pulling the Earth team out." He opened his eyes when he felt Eva's hand move but then it was still again. He sighed.

"You didn't seem all that concerned when you thought she was Molly," Rick said.

Don flinched.

"Right. Sorry. That was a low blow, I'll admit it," Rick said. "But still…what is it?"

"I'm under orders from the President not to discuss it," Don said, looking away from Rick.

"Look, Don, we're like a billion light years from Earth," Rick said. "Could you at least give me a hint?"

Don sighed. "The powers of the Avatar are absolutely limitless. He can offer the winner _anything_, serving the galaxy on a silver platter, destroying worlds…even…bringing back a loved one."

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva felt someone put a hand over her left one and then heard Rick ask, "So…what exactly has been going on?"

It was her father who responded from her left. She listened to their conversation, determined not to let them know she was awake. She almost gave herself away when she heard her father say that he was pulling the team out; her hand clenched before she could stop it. But she unclenched it quickly, and, thankfully, he didn't seem to give it much thought.

Her curiosity grew as Don tried to get out of telling Rick what the Ultimate Prize was. When he finally said what it was, Eva was afraid that she'd give herself away again; her heart was pounding. _I could bring Mother back…I could really bring her back._

It was a little while later that Rick stood up. "Well, I think I'll go and let Remus have his turn to see the Little Mouse. I'm assuming you're going to stay here?"

"Yes," Don said.

"Okay, then."

A moment later, Remus entered and sat down beside her. "Oh, wow, that took a beating," he said. It sounded like he'd bent down and picked something up off the ground. "I hope this wasn't her favorite CD. It's totally trashed. I'll have to fix this Player later."

"Remus…" Don said. "How long have you known she was my daughter?"

"Since I first met her," Remus said. "Everyone has a unique scent. Every family has a basic scent. I smelt your basic scent and hers. Your family scent was the same. She has her own unique scent, yes, but the underlying family one was the same." There was a pause. "It's a Lupanian thing."

"I see."

They sat there in silence for a while longer. Eva began to feel tired. Eventually, she slipped off into sleep.

**_Chapter preview: The Will to Win_** –_ Don entered the hospital as soon as he could the next morning. Instantly, Jordan was there; he didn't look like he should be out of bed. He was limping and every step he took caused him to hiss in pain. Don rushed up to him. "Jordan, what are you doing? You shouldn't be up!"_

"_Sir!" Jordan said. "It's Molly—I mean, Eva! She's gone!"_

"_What? What do you mean _gone_?" Don demanded. _

"_I mean that when the nurse went to check on her this morning she wasn't there!" Jordan said. "Nobody knows what's happened to her!"_

_Don took a step backward. _Eva…

(1) For those of you who haven't seen Invader Zim, Gir is a robot that disguises himself as a green dog. I'd give you a link to a picture, but unfortuantly the link isn't show up.

(2) For those of you who have never seen Foamy the Squirrel, its a flash cartoon on the internet. It's not recommended for little kids because his language is crude and sometimes his humor is...well...let's just say its not always...or really ever, little kid friendly. Once again, I'd give you a link, but it's not showing up. And it's not Word's problem, it's this websites.

(3) I know that Remus didn't exactly put it all together and figure out that way that Don and Maya were married; he's just trying to make a point to Rick.

Also, I hope nobody minded me expanding on Don's memory of Maya. It just seemed like too much fun _not_ to.

Okay, _now_ I'm asking for nine reviews. And I know I'll get them because people love me, right? People will review…YES, THAT MEANS YOU! I WROTE THIS HUGE THING AND FINISHED IT FOR _YOU_! I COULD'VE LET YOU WAIT ANOTHER WEEK! THE LEAST I DESERVE IS A REVIEW! (sobs in a dark corner)


	16. The Will to Win

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Oban Star-racers. I wish I did…but I don't…

Okay, just for clarification: Eva and Remus are NOT going to get together. I just thought it might be fun for the team to _think_ they are—or that they at least like each other. It could definitely be fun later on Oban; Jordan could have some major jealousy issues with Remus. Not that I'm saying that's going to happen, but it could be fun. I'm chewing on the idea. Not to mention if Don thought that Remus liked Eva like that, that could be fun also. (big evil grin) I know, I like to torture poor Remus. Don't worry, though, it's only because I love him.

(sees a bunch of these): (((OO)))

…What?

Moon and Star

Ch.16: The Will to Win

Eva awoke later to an empty room and moonlight pouring through the window above her bed. Everything was silent. She tried to roll over onto her side, but cried out softly in pain as her body burned. She instantly stopped moving. Breathing heavily, she stared at the ceiling. A million thoughts ran through her head, most of them centering on her father. She knew that everyone had to know the truth by now, and that nothing would be the same. Her father was pulling them out of the race. She'd loose the chance to bring her mother back, and her father would dump her back in the boarding school.

Panicking, Eva struggled to sit up. She couldn't stay here. She had to find somewhere to go… But where? She wracked her brain for an answer until she found one. Getting out of bed slowly, Eva grit her teeth. Moving had to be one of most painful things imaginable, but she couldn't stay here. With that, Eva began to sneak her way out of the hospital.

**-.oOOo.-**

Duncan watched as a few stragglers (namely the twins) entered the pit and transformed into their Lupanian forms. He quickly did a head count. There was Lupe and Lupita, Bardawulf and Hemming, Lily and Conner… Gerwulf was nowhere to be found. Duncan cast another glance around, but Gerwulf didn't appear from any of the entrances; if it had been anyone else he would've been concerned and waited up for them to get back. As it was, he barely shrugged as he walked down the stairs to the pit floor to join the others. He was about to take off his cape when someone knocked on the door.

Duncan stopped and stared at the doors suspiciously.

"It's probably Gerwulf," Conner said. He was the cook and a thirty-five year old man with light brown hair that was gaining wisps of gray in his bangs. In his Lupanian form, that had an interesting affect on the fur around his eyes, framing his blue-gray eyes with silver and brown fur.

"Don't let him in," the twins said.

Although Duncan was sorely tempted by this idea, he rolled his eyes and opened the hanger door. At first, he thought there was no one there. Then he looked down. Molly was standing there, shivering. It had begun to rain, and she was soaked through.

"Molly?" Duncan asked, surprised.

"May I come in?" she asked.

Duncan quickly stepped to the side. "Of course, of course."

Molly quickly entered, and Lily wrapped a blanket around her. "Thanks," Molly said softly.

"No problem," Lily replied with a smile.

It was then an odd scent reached Duncan's nose. He took the blanket from Molly suddenly. The bandages on her arms, legs, temple…they were stained red.

"You're bleeding!" he exclaimed.

"It's nothing," she said. It might've been more reassuring if talking hadn't sounded painful for her. She cried out, surprised, as Duncan picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the pit. "What are you doing?"

They entered the kitchen, and Duncan set her down in a chair. "Relax," he said. "I've got something that'll help." He rummaged around through the cabinets, grabbing a pot, mug, several pouches and set to work. He filled the pot with warm water and mixed the powders from the three pouches. Turning his back to Molly, he took a knife and cut his arm. It wasn't a deep cut, but it bled. Once it began to heal itself, Duncan coated his finger with the freshest blood and put it in the pot. The mix of colors from the powders hid it well enough. Duncan grabbed a Cool Aid packet and dumped that powder in there, grimacing.

_I hope that covers the taste,_ he thought, pouring some of it into the mug. Handing it to Molly, he said, "Drink up. That should help heal you." The powders would help Molly's body absorb the chemical in Lupanian blood that healed their wounds and do the same for her own body. She'd have to take it for a while, but it would heal her. Thankfully, Lupanians didn't have to worry about spreading diseases through their blood because their immune systems were stronger than ordinary humans, by far.

Molly drank it silently. She grimaced slightly. "What's in this, anyway?"

"Just some powders," Duncan said. If she had been a Lupanian, he wouldn't have hesitated to tell her since Lupanians, culturally, weren't as squeamish about blood since most enjoyed raw meat; drinking blood wasn't regarded as much different as long as it was for something like healing. Otherwise, it was just creepy.

"I have to ask…why are you here?" Duncan asked.

"You told me I could come here if I didn't want to deal with my teammates," Molly replied.

"Yes, I did," Duncan said. "And I'm not taking that back. I'm just curious as to why you're here at this late hour, looking like you should be in the hospital. You should, after all; I saw your race. What happened, Molly?"

"My name's not Molly," she said quietly. "It's Eva." Duncan waited a moment for her to continued, but she didn't.

"Why did you lie?"

Molly…Eva…winced, but didn't say anything.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Duncan said. "I won't be mad at you nor will anyone else. But tell me…does Remus know?"

"He's known since the beginning," Eva said. Then she sighed and spilled the whole story, looking as though she wasn't quite sure why. When she finally finished, Duncan was quite for a minute.

"So…" he began slowly, "after going through all the trouble to try and get your father to care about you, now that he does…you don't want to talk to him?"

"Yes," Eva said.

"That makes…perfect sense," Duncan said slowly.

"I don't want him to send me back to boarding school," she whispered.

"Oh," Duncan said solemnly. "_That_ makes sense."

Eva nodded.

"You can stay with us for a while," Duncan said. "Come." He stood, and Eva followed him into the pit. Duncan took off his cape and tossed it aside.

Eva stopped and stared at the Lupanians. They were all lying on the floor next to Hunter, using each other's arms, legs, sides and stomachs as pillows. Duncan paused, standing over Lily whose green eyes were wide open. The others tried to look like they were asleep, but Duncan knew they weren't.

"I'm assuming you all heard what we said?" Duncan said.

One of the twins (Eva wasn't sure which one) lifted their head and said, "Well, the kitchen's only attached to the pit and has no door." The other twin whom the first twin had been using as a pillow propped herself up on her elbows.

"She's got a point," she said.

By now everyone had given up an act of sleep and was looking at them intently.

"Very well. Then you know that she will be staying with us for a while," Duncan said. He turned to Eva. "Would like to sleep with us or in one of our rooms?"

"Um…" Eva looked at all of them in their Lupanians forms; they were certainly a close nit group. _They're what a family is supposed to be,_ she thought. "I…I think I'll stay with you guys."

Duncan nodded.

The twins motioned for her to join them. "You can use my back if you want," one of them said.

"Erm…thanks," Eva said uncomfortably. She lied down and rested her head on the twin's back. It wasn't as uncomfortable as she had thought it would be. Her fur was really soft.

A moment later, the group had all curled together in a giant mess and was sleeping soundly. It took Eva a little longer to fall asleep, but eventually the steady rise and fall of the twin's back lulled her to sleep.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don entered the hospital as soon as he could the next morning. Instantly, Jordan was there; he didn't look like he should be out of bed. He was limping and every step he took caused him to hiss in pain. Don rushed up to him. "Jordan, what are you doing? You shouldn't be up!"

"Sir!" Jordan said. "It's Molly—I mean, Eva! She's gone!"

"What? What do you mean gone?" Don demanded.

"I mean that when the nurse went to check on her this morning she wasn't there!" Jordan said. "Nobody knows what's happened to her!"

Don took a step backward. _Eva…_

**-.oOOo.-**

When Eva awoke that morning, it took her a moment to remember where she was. _I don't remember the pillow being this soft…or…moving?_ Eva opened her eyes and was met with the sight of the back of a furry black head and wolf ears. Then she remembered: she was in the Lupanian hanger. Slowly, propping herself up on her elbows, she looked around for a way to get out of the mess of wolf people. After figuring out a way, she carefully stood up and made her way out of the tangle. It was only once she was out and she looked back at everyone, that she realized that Duncan was missing.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don was pacing back and forth in the pit of the Earth hanger while the rest of the team watched him silently. Finally, Rick said, "Don, relax, we'll find the Little Mouse. We just need to figure out where she might've gone first."

Don stopped long enough to glare at him and snap, "And what if she was taken? Hm? What if Groor or Flint or Paradice took her, hm? What then?" And he began to pace again.

Rick's shoulders sagged. "Look, Don, I'm not trying to start a fight or anything. I'm just saying that Molly…Eva…whatever—"

"It's Eva," Don snapped again.

"Right, Eva," Rick said. "Well, I'm saying she can take care of herself, that much should be obvious."

Don stopped pacing and looked at Rick. This time, however, he didn't look angry. Only worried and scared. "But she isn't strong enough, Rick. If someone took her now, she would barely be able to put up a fight."

"You've got a point," Rick said. "But I doubt she was taken."

"Why would she run away?"

"You'll have to ask her that when we find her," Rick replied.

There was silence for a moment.

"Hey, Remus," Koji said curiously, "couldn't you find her? I mean…sniff her out or something?"

Remus shook her head. "Sorry; I tried. The rain's washed her scent away." Then he fixed his eyes on the hanger door. "Hold on a sec. I smell something…I think…I think it's Duncan."

There was a knock on the doors a moment later and, sure enough, they opened to reveal Duncan.

"What are you doing here?" Don demanded.

Duncan looked him up and down and gave him a look of distain. "Not that it matters, really, but I'm here about your daughter."

Don's attitude changed immediately. "Eva? You know where she is?"

Duncan seemed to size Don up a bit before answering, "She's at our pit. She came last night. Just needed to get away, she said."

"She should be at the hospital," Don said. "She's not well enough to be walking around."

"We're taking care of her at our pit, don't worry about that," Duncan said.

"Take me to your hanger," Don said. "I need to speak with Eva."

"I'm sorry, but you can't do that just yet," Duncan said.

"What?" Don shouted. "Who do you think you are? I'm her father!"

"And some father you turned out to be," Duncan said coolly. "She told us the whole story last night; she came to us because I told her earlier that she was welcome at our pit anytime, particularly if she needed to get away from any of you. At the moment, she doesn't want to see any of you. Least of all, you," Duncan added, gazing directly at Don.

Don was silent, shoulders sagging. All the fight seemed to go out of him instantly. Duncan suddenly felt bad for him; it became obvious to him that whatever reason Don had for leaving Eva it was probably a good one. He could sense it.

"I'm sorry, but Eva will come to you when she's ready. And I won't allow you to come near her until she is. Sorry," Duncan said. He bowed stiffly and left.

Remus glanced at Don then back to Duncan before running after him. "Hey, wait up!" Duncan paused and turned around. "Can I come with you? I _am_ part of the pack after all."

A smile tugged at the corners of Duncan's lips. "That you are." He started back toward the Lupanian hanger again, and Remus took that as his queue to follow.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva had found her way onto the roof of the Lupanian hanger and was sitting under the cold gray sky, staring at her goggles; they had been the only thing to survive her mother's crash. They had been blown clear across the racetrack. The band was singed, but that part was always covered by her hair. _I wonder if my father would've recognized me if he could see it…_ She brushed that thought away. Don had only seen them once after Eva had picked them up at the crash (she had had to drop them twice before they were cool enough to touch) and had angrily thrown them away with tears in his eyes. Eva had pulled them out of the trash later when he wasn't around and cleaned them as thoroughly as she knew how before hiding them away in her backpack (that was how they had made it to the Stern Boarding School with her—she doubted her father would've packed them for her).

_Can I really bring you back, mother? Can I really make things the way they were…?_ Eva felt tears prick at her eyes. "I wish you never would've left me…" She shivered as a cold gust of wind picked up and hugged the goggles to her chest.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus walked alongside Duncan silently. Finally he asked, "How do you make your clothes transform into fur? I can make my shoes do it, but I can't figure out of the rest of it. Lost my favorite sweater in a fight with Gerwulf, but his leather wasn't touched. Doesn't seem fair to me."

Duncan's eye had twitched at Gerwulf's name, but he said, "You've really just got to think about it and practice until it becomes second nature. Your parents would've taught you this, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks," Remus replied.

"In the meantime, I think Conner might have a sweater for you. It would be a little too big, but it would do. He never wears it."

"That's okay. I like baggy clothes."

**-.oOOo.-**

Don sat at the table in the kitchen of the Earth hanger, absently drinking a cup of water. Stan and Koji had gone out to look for spare parts, and Don hadn't been in the right frame of mind to tell them to forget about it—they probably wouldn't have anyways. Jordan was still in the hospital, and Rick was sitting down at the opposite end of the table, watching him silently. Remus had been allowed to go to the Lupanian hanger…a fact that sent a jolt of anger through him whenever he thought about it. She was _his_ daughter! Although…Duncan had a point. If Eva didn't want to see him, he couldn't force her. It would only make things worse.

"Hey, Don," Rick finally said, "what're you thinking?"

Don shook his head and took a sip of his water.

"Look, I'm sure all she needs is some time," Rick said. "I mean, I don't think she was planning on you figuring out who she was just yet. I think she wanted to tell you, but when you figured it out, it through her for a loop, that's all."

Don shook his head again. "She hates me, Rick. And why shouldn't she? I've been a terrible father and…and I've made it clear since the beginning that I didn't want her around. When we first came to Alwas…after her race with Groor…even the one with Prince Aikka. I had a reason not to trust Aikka, and a reason to be angry when she went against orders, but after a minute I saw that he was, in fact, going to keep his promise. The only reason I ordered Jordan to attack was to spite her."

"Look, I'll admit, it's not going to be easy," Rick said, "but you _can_ fix this. First you've just got to explain _why_ you left her. The rest doesn't matter just yet."

"I can't explain anything to her if she doesn't want to see me," Don said, gazing at the table.

"Then go to the Lupanian hanger and ask one of them to ask Eva if you can see her," Rick said. "Don't force her to talk to you…but don't wait for her to come to you. Meet her halfway."

Don thought about that for a moment. He sighed. "Maybe you're right…"

"I know I am," Rick said. "Go talk to her."

Don stood up. "I can't promise anything…"

"But it won't be for lack of trying," Rick said. "I got it. Now go."

Don nodded and left.

**-.oOOo.-**

Someone sat down next to Eva. She looked up to see Remus, wearing a gray sweater, a grayish-blue shirt and baggy jeans—like always. "Where'd you get the sweater?"

"Conner," Remus answered. "He's the chief. I hear he's really good, too. Anyway, he hadn't worn this thing in years. Apparently, he packed it on accident. Said I could have it."

"I see," Eva murmured. She stared at her goggles again.

"So when are you going to talk to your father?" Remus asked.

"Never." Eva gripped the goggles tightly.

"After all this…you're just going to…?" Remus shook his head. "I don't believe it."

"Believe what? Coming here was a mistake," Eva said.

"No. Remember what Rick said? Without you the Earth team would be finished," Remus said firmly.

"We're finished anyways," Eva snapped, glaring at him. "Don Wei's pulling us out."

"A sign that he _does_ care," Remus said. "Now, just talk to him. At least tell him you won't allow him to pull the Earth team out if nothing else. Unless you want to leave?"

Eva shook her head. "I can't. The Ultimate Prize really _is_ any wish, any dream. I heard Don Wei and Rick talking about it. I can bring my mother back. I can make things the way they were before."

She looked up and saw Remus frown. "Eva…" he started. Then he paused, appearing to be wondering just how to word what was on his mind. Finally he said, "Eva, _nothing_ is going to be the same, even if you bring your mother back."

That wasn't true, and Eva knew it. She opened her mouth to speak, but Remus held up a hand to silence her. She waited to hear what he had to say.

"True, you'll be living with your mother and father again, but none of you are going to forget that she _died_, Eva. She missed out on ten years of your life, just like your father," Remus said.

"It doesn't matter. That wasn't her fault. She didn't choose to leave me like Don Wei did," Eva said. "And bringing her back will make us a family again. Don Wei will change; he'll be my father again."

"Eva, he never _stopped_ being your father! Listen to yourself! I'm all for you bringing your mother back, you know I am, but Don Wei knows who you are—he's already changed! He's acting like a father should. You should've seen him when he found out that you were missing from the hospital! I thought he was going to worry himself to death! My _god_, the pacing! It was making me dizzy!" Remus exclaimed. "Maybe your family won't be completely whole yet, but you can at least start to rebuild it with Don."

Eva shook her head. "No, Remus."

Remus just stared at her like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Eva, everything you've wanted is staring you right in the face. And you're not going to grab it…?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't need Maya to have a family," Remus said. "You and Don can be a family even without her. But if all goes well, you won't have to be for long. Just give him a chance to explain, okay, E? Please? That's all I ask."

Eva stared at her goggles again. "Alright," she said. "But I'm not making any promises."

"As long as you try, E, as long as you try."

Eva stood up. "I need to take a walk," she said.

"Can I come with?" Remus asked.

"Sure."

Remus stood up. Eva climbed back through a window into one of the rooms of the Lupanian hanger; Remus followed her and they left, walking towards the racing arena.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don approached the Lupanian hanger as Remus and Eva left it. He stopped and watched them head toward the racing arena. He was presented with two options: he could return to the Earth hanger or he could follow them. He chose the second one.

"Eva!" he called.

Remus and Eva stopped and turned around. Eva stiffened. "Yes, sir?"

Don stopped in front of them. "Eva, I need to speak with you."

"I'm not letting you pull us out of the race if that's what you want to talk about so forget it," Eva said.

Don seemed startled. "No, that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about, but—"

"Then I've got nothing more to say to you," Eva said coldly, and continued toward the arena.

Remus glared at her meaningfully as he cleared his throat loudly. Eva looked at him pleadingly. Remus sighed and shrugged, but gave her another significant look. She nodded; she headed off again and this time Remus followed.

Don stared after them, shoulders sagging. What was he supposed to do now? Did he follow and try again? Or did he return to the Earth hanger and wait for Eva to come to him?

He stood there until he couldn't see them anymore. Finally he turned and headed back to the hanger.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva and Remus sat down in the stands of the arena. "You know you'll have to talk to him eventually. You promised."

"I know," Eva said. "But not right now, please. I needed some time to figure out what I'm going to say to him."

"Remember: let him talk first. Find out why he left before you accuse him of anything," Remus said. "It'll help."

"Okay…Rush!" Eva exclaimed. "What's he doing?"

"What?" Remus looked to the screen displaying the race. Rush had turned around and was attacking Toros. Rush jumped off his ship, embedding his axe in Toros', using that to hold on.

Eva stood up. "What's he doing?"

Remus stood up as well. "I don't know. That's the guy who saved you from the temple, right?"

"Yes, it is," Eva said. "He never…I don't understand why he's doing this! He's not a violent person!"

Toros' trident blades glowed yellow and the ship rose a couple of feet; it was enough to send it crashing into the underside of a bridge. Rush was thrown off and covered in debris.

"Rush!" Eva cried. She ran out of the stands with Remus on her tail and found a way onto the track. The rescue team was already there, sifting through rumble. "Rush!"

Remus sniffed the air. "There!" he said, pointing to a pile of rocks nearby. He ran over and started tossing them aside. He uncovered a hand and started working faster; by now the rescue team had joined him and they quickly uncovered him.

Rush coughed. "That was…quite a show, wasn't it?" He coughed again.

"You were great today," Eva said, kneeling next to him. "Don't talk, just rest."

Rush covered one of her hands with his own. "The race is over for me and my people."

"Rush, why did you want the Ultimate Prize?" Eva asked softly.

"The Crogs destroyed my planet and I wanted to restore it to its former glory," Rush said. "But I guess what I really wanted was revenge."

Remus knelt down beside Rush. He didn't know why, but he'd taken an instant liking to the Viking-like alien.

"If I win, Rush, I'll restore your planet for you," Eva said. Remus looked at her, surprised.

"You're a sweet girl, Molly, but I can't accept," Rush said. "My people will find a way to rebuild Byrus. This is our problem to solve. To capture the Ultimate Prize, your intent must be pure. Mine was not." The rescue team had lifted him onto a carrier and now began to drag him away. "Draw strength from it and bring back the Ultimate Prize."

Eva and Remus silently watched him go.

**-.oOOo.-**

Stan and Koji headed back to the hanger with the parts they had set out looking for and some Scrub mechanics (help they hadn't been looking for but were all to happy to find). Koji paused.

Stan turned around to look at him. "What is it, Koji?"

"Hold on a sec," Koji said. "I've got an idea."

**-.oOOo.-**

When Remus and Eva returned to the Lupanian hanger, there was no one there. They looked at each other before running to the Earth hanger.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don sat in his office, staring at the picture of him, Maya and Eva. He glanced at where he kept his magazines, frowning. He knew Remus had most likely taken them before to give to Eva so she could cut the articles out, although part of him wondered why she had needed his magazines. The articles were probably all available on the internet. If she wanted articles and pictures why didn't she print them out at the Stern Boarding School? The other part of him didn't want to know the answer to that (he probably wasn't going to like it).

Wondering whether Stan and Koji were back yet, he closed and locked the box he kept the picture in before leaving his office and heading toward the pit. He stopped as he passed Eva's room. He hesitated for a moment before entering. He looked around; his eyes landed on two books on her bed. One looked like a sketchbook and the other like a photo album. He walked over and opened the sketchbook.

He was taken aback. He hadn't known how well Eva could draw. He flipped through it. The first several pages were of people Don didn't know: two boys playing soccer, a girl hunched over a piece of paper, another girl reading a book, one of what looked like a teacher sitting behind a counter (Eva had drawn horns, a mustache and a beard on her with several words scribbled around it) and then there was a picture of him and Eva how they looked ten years ago. He was smiling and Eva was hugging his neck. He paused, staring at the picture before turning the page.

His heart clenched. Staring back at him was a picture of Maya, smiling triumphantly. The finished product had been inked and the pencil lines erased, but there was still evidence of lines being erased many, many, many times. Don could only guess that Eva had spent hours on this picture. He forced himself to turn the page and was greeted with the sight of Remus, smiling and giving a thumbs up, wearing his baggy clothes and the shirt and sweater that looked like they would slip off his shoulders at any second. Turning the pages, he found several more pictures of Remus before a few of Stan and Koji (they appeared to be checking over a part of the Arrow), then there was one of Jordan, Rick, even Setis before finding one of himself again. He winced. Both were of him shouting. The second one had been scribbled out angrily. He turned the page again and saw a drawing of Rick, then two of Remus, another two of Jordan, and one of a girl he hadn't seen before. The picture on the next page was of a Lupanian. He looked back at the picture of the last girl. They both had eagle feathers in their hair. _That must be Lily, Remus' cousin, I guess,_ he thought.

There was one more picture of a Lupanian (he recognized this one as Duncan) and then the pages were blank. He set it down and opened the photo album. As he had suspected the articles and pictures were all there.

A noise from the pit startled him. He closed the album and left her room just as he had found it. Entering the pit, he saw Stan, Koji, several Scrub mechanics and the Lupanian team. They were starting work on the Arrow. He scanned the area for Eva. He didn't see her.

Sighing, he turned and headed back to his office. He was going to respect Eva's wish not to be pulled out of the race (did he really have the right to stop her?), but he was half hoping that the Arrow wouldn't be fixed by tomorrow.

_**Chapter preview: Make Way! **– Eva started to climb up the ladder to the cockpit when Remus grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Remus, what—?" The next thing she knew, the helmet Remus had bought her was put on her head and buckled. "Remus, what are you doing? I don't need this." She started to unbuckle it, but Remus slapped her hand away. _

"_Tch. After your last race? You're lucky that I couldn't figure out how to put a seatbelt in or else I'd strap you in so tightly you'd have trouble moving," Remus replied seriously. _

_Eva scowled, then smiled softly. "Thanks, Remus. I appreciate the concern."_

"_You'd better. Now make sure Jordan doesn't do something stupid again; he was just _asking_ Toros to take you out last time."_

"_Don't worry about it; he won't get me again," Eva said confidently. "I_ have_ to win this race to get to Oban."_

_Remus nodded. "I know. Go get 'em, E." _

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! They are very much appreciated. Now click the little purple button and review again! And for those of you who didn't review (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) the same goes for you. There's no need to be afraid of the little button, it's your best friend and mine as well. It loves you. Click it.


	17. Make Way!

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own! LEAVE ME ALONE!! (runs away screaming hysterically) I still do own Lupanians and Jubalins. Don't forget that. Don't ever forget that. (sharpens knife)

Moon and Star

Ch.17: Make Way!

Don Wei entered the pit the next morning and stared at everyone running around, lifting parts and wielding. The Arrow was just an exposed frame, engine and wires at the moment. "You're not repairing the Arrow 2. You're making a new one," he said surprised.

Stan looked over at him and shrugged. "We designed these upgrades while we were still working at Miguel's," he said. "And then we forgot about them."

Koji came up behind Don. "If we had known about these Scrub mechanics…or that that Lupanians would help us…we would've done it right away."

"You'd better be right," Don said, surprising Koji. "Our last shot at Oban starts in a few hours." He looked over at the left reactor to see Eva screwing in a bolt. He took a step towards her just as she looked up. She stiffened when she saw him, glanced around and then ran over to Bardawulf and Hemming to help them with something. Don sighed.

Something caught his eye and he looked at a part towards the front of the pit. Someone very short was messing around with it; someone who shouldn't be. The person stepped back, revealing Setis. Setis dashed over to another piece of equipment, admiring it.

Don cleared his throat, gaining Setis' attention. Setis ran over to him. "Why, hello there. Quite the party you're having, isn't it?"

"You have something to tell me?"

"What do you mean?" Setis asked. He gripped his beard, closing his eyes, concentrating… "BAH! Of course! Silly me," he said, reaching into a pocket of his robes. He pulled out a scroll and held it out for Don to take. "The judges have finished drawing lots for the last race."

Don didn't take the scroll. "Drawing lots?"

"The six teams have all faced each other once. For the last race, the opponents are picked at random," Setis explained.

Don took the scroll, frowning. "I see." _If Eva has to race Spirit again, I'm pulling us out no matter _what_ she says._

"It's all there in that document," Setis said. "The names of the opponents, the rules in case of a tie, the departure tables for Oban or, in case of a defeat, the return trip to your home planet."

"Hhmm…thank you," Don said and went to his office. He unrolled the scroll and put on his reading glasses. He lowered the scroll when he finished reading, clenching his teeth. He growled and dropped it.

**-.oOOo.-**

The Earth and Lupanian teams and the Scrub mechanics stood in front of the Arrow 3, looking at it proudly. "Isn't she beautiful?" Stan asked. "Stronger, faster, safer…"

"The Whizzing Arrow 3!" Koji declared proudly.

"A brand new ship…for a brand new champion," Rick muttered.

Stan and Koji turned to the Scrubs and Lupanians. "Thanks guys. We couldn't have done it without you."

"No problem," Bardawulf said with a wink as the Scrub mechanics left. "Now…about that Jubalin gunner…"

Stan looked surprised and turned to Koji. "What's he talking about?"

Koji was suddenly embarrassed as everyone stared at him. "Yeah…about that…look, I'm sure she'd like you if you didn't come on so strong… I'll talk to her, don't worry."

"Wait…" Stan said. "You agreed to set him up?!"

Koji blushed, ducking his head. "Well…he said that he'd give a hundred and thirty percent if I at least talked to her…"

Lily growled in exasperation. "You're still on about her?"

"Of course," Bardawulf said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"She's a rabbit!" Lily cried. "How many times to I have to tell you?! We_—eat—_rabbits!"

"Hey, hey," Bardawulf said defensively. "I never said it was going to be the perfect relationship; we'll figure something out."

"Assuming _she_ can get past the eating her part!" Lily said, fuming.

"Well…why wouldn't she?" Bardawulf asked confused. "I'm not going to eat her. I think I made that pretty clear the last time."

Eva stepped between them, barely noticing when the door opened and Don entered. Lily looked about ready to strangle Bardawulf.

"Lily," Remus pleaded, "don't strangle him, please. It'll leave a body to get rid of and a lot of unwanted questions. Plus, there's no where to bury him where we won't be seen."

Bardawulf glared at Remus. "Hey! Whose side are you on?"

"Who's winning?"

Eva shook her head. "Guys, would you give it a break? He's obviously going to give it a shot. Lily, if it goes down in flames then we won't stop you from saying 'I told you so' for however long you want, alright?"

Lily eyed Bardawulf for a moment then looked at Eva, sizing her up. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Eva said, becoming uncomfortably aware that her father was standing right behind her.

"Alright then," Lily said. Eva thought she heard her mutter, "But maybe I'll eat the pilot just to make a point."

"What did you say?" Bardawulf asked.

"Nothing," Lily said innocently. "Nothing at all."

Jordan looked at Don. "Well, sir, what's the verdict?"

"Yeah, looks great," Don said distractedly. Jordan's shoulder's sagged. "I have the name of our next adversary. We're up against Colonel Toros." He noticed Remus slip away into the living quarters of the hanger while everyone else was shocked by the news.

"But he's never lost a race! Ever…" Jordan said.

Eva crossed her arms, looking at the ground. "And he nearly crushed us to a pancake last time," she said dejectedly.

Don frowned, feeling a twinge of something…he couldn't describe it. "This team has improved tremendously since we lost to Toros. We'll do fine."

Eva didn't seem to believe a word he said. He turned to Stan and Koji. "Check the tanks and run the final checks! We'll be called at any moment now!"

They snapped to attention.

"Yes, sir!" Stan said.

"We're on it," Koji said.

They ran off.

"After you, partner," Jordan said, gesturing to the Arrow 3. Eva hung her head as she walked forward.

Don placed a hand on her shoulder as she passed. She stopped and looked up at him.

"Yes, sir?" Eva asked.

Don's heart dropped a bit as she addressed him so formally. He gripped her shoulder a bit tighter as he said, "Good luck."

She looked surprised and then torn, her eyes darkening. "Thank you, sir." She started toward the Arrow 3 as Duncan and Conner rolled the ladder up. Don's hand slipped off her shoulder as she walked away. He sighed and started up the stairs, stopping to watch as Remus ran passed him, carrying something, and up to Eva.

Eva started to climb up the ladder to the cockpit when Remus grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Remus, what—?" The next thing she knew, the helmet Remus had bought her was put on her head and buckled. "Remus, what are you doing? I don't need this." She started to unbuckle it, but Remus slapped her hand away.

"Tch. After your last race? You're lucky that I couldn't figure out how to put a seatbelt in or else I'd strap you in so tightly you'd have trouble moving," Remus replied seriously.

Eva scowled, then smiled softly. "Thanks, Remus. I appreciate the concern."

"You'd better. Now make sure Jordan doesn't do something stupid again; he was just asking Toros to take you out last time."

"Don't worry about it; he won't get me again," Eva said confidently. "I have to win this race to get to Oban."

Remus nodded. "I know. Go get 'em, E."

Eva climbed up into the cockpit and closed the windshield over it. "Toros or no Toros, nothing's going stand between me and the Ultimate Prize. Not even a Crog."

**-.oOOo.-**

"How's she feel?" Koji asked once Eva had entered the arena.

"The steering's a little stiff, but I'll get used to it," Eva said.

"Now, we call forth Toros!" said one of the announcers. Eva looked over her shoulder as the Trident drifted into the arena to stop beside her. It looked a little different than before—did it used to have those spikes on the blades?

Eva turned her gaze in front of her. The gate dropped and they both shot forward. _So good so far…_ They went around a turn; the Arrow took it a little too wide and scrapped the side of the track.

"Eva, what's wrong?" Don asked.

"It's a new Star-racer," Eva said a little annoyed. "Let me get used to it."

Toros had pulled ahead, but now Eva caught up to him. She tried to pass. Toros slammed her into the wall. Eva growled and pulled the Arrow back, swung to the other side of the track and tried to pass again. Jordan fired at Toros with everything he had. The Trident moved from side to side, spun around—Jordan couldn't hit it; even when he did the laser bounced off like it was nothing.

Toros dropped back; they took the lead. Eva put on a burst of speed and tried to get as far ahead as they could. They came out onto a water channel. Jordan looked around. This was the same track they'd raced on before…and the same part of it they had been defeated.

Toros was catching up; the Trident's blades glowed yellow, crackling.

"Eva!" Jordan shouted.

Eva looked over her shoulder; her eyes narrowed. Their last race flashed in front of her…at the last second, she barrel rolled over the Trident's blades. A blade scratched the Arrow but did little damage. Toros pulled ahead.

"Stan, is the hyperdrive working?" she asked.

"Yes, same controls as before," Stan replied.

Eva quickly punched in the code. The cockpit turned red as the Arrow began to vibrate. Panels with engines came out of the reactors. Eva hit the last button. The Arrow 3 shot forward, faster than it ever had before. Eva gripped the handlebars tightly; Jordan was pinned back against his seat.

Over the communication link, Eva heard Don ask, "How can we achieve such speed?"

"Oh, it was easy," Koji said. "We mounted the turbines in clusters…that was my idea. It nearly doubles their capacity."

"Stan, the fuel levels?" Eva asked.

"Your still okay…for a bit longer," he replied. "We increased the tank capacity too."

Eva saw Toros ship come back into view. Suddenly, the Trident put on a burst of speed and left them in the dust.

"How did that happen?" Eva asked surprised. Then she asked, "Stan, is there anyway to make this baby go faster?"

**-.oOOo.-**

Stan and Koji glanced at each other.

"Well," Don asked, "yes or no?"

"Stan, what about the…?" Koji started.

"No. Out of the question. The Arrow's hull could break apart under the thrust," Stan said.

Eva appeared on the screen again. "Hello? Can we do it?"

Stan shook his head. "It's just too dangerous."

Remus cast his gaze to the ground. He had helped Koji set the commands to enable the booster drives…he remembered the code… He glanced at Don and Rick. Both would skin him alive…if Stan left anything for them.

"Guys, please! Toros is getting away!" Eva pleaded.

"We're sorry, really," Stan said. "We won't let you get yourself killed."

"Sir!" Eva looked to Don for help.

"I'm sorry, Eva, but I won't do it," he said softly. "I won't let you risk your life."

"But I _have_ to get to Oban!"

"Why?" Stan asked. "What's so important to risk your life like that?"

Remus growled. He sprinted forward, slamming his shoulder into Stan's side. Stan was knocked away from the controls, sprawled on the ground. Remus' fingers flew over the controls. He had the code in before anyone knew what had happened.

"Booster drives enabled! Go for it, E!"

"REMUS!" Rick, Don and Koji cried.

Stan got to his feet. "Why you…" he growled.

Eva pushed the arrow button on the controls. The Arrow 3 shot forward so fast she was nearly thrown off her rocket seat; she could barely see where she was going. They flew around a corner. Toros came into sight and then was gone; they had passed him. Eva disengaged the booster drives and hyperdrive. "Thanks, Remus," she said.

"You're welcome," Remus replied. "Just make sure you get back here soon 'cause I think Stan, Rick and Don are going to kill me."

"If she had been hurt, I would've done a lot worse than that," Don growled.

Eva tuned out their argument as Toros started to fire. They flew through a tunnel and came out into the canyon. Toros hit the turret.

Jordan caught as the turret filled with smoke.

As soon as they were out of the canyon and headed down the final stretch, Toros shot off as fast as he could. Eva engaged the hyperdrive and booster drives. She tried unsuccessfully to get around the Trident. Finally, she pulled up beside it.

"Eva," Stan said, "you're going to crash against the temple walls. You must stop now."

"No way," Eva said. "I'm not stopping."

They were drawing closer to the finish line.

"Eva, please stop!" Don pleaded. "It's too dangerous! You're going to crash!"

For a moment, Eva went to disengage the booster drives…then she gripped the handlebars again. "No! I'm not stopping!" Then she murmured, "I know my mother wouldn't have."

She hadn't meant for them to hear her, but apparently they did.

"Eva! You're not Maya!" Don cried. "She had years of experience behind her!"

Eva ignored him as they drew closer…they were going to crash…

Toros pulled back. Eva disengaged the hyper and booster drives as she crossed the finish line, banking to the left sharply. The Trident embedded itself in the opposite wall.

**-.oOOo.-**

Inside the control room, everyone held their breath. The Arrow had hit the ground, skidding, kicking up dust. They couldn't see if Eva and Jordan were all right. Finally, the smoke cleared, revealing the Arrow 3 unscathed.

The image on the control room screen changed to the cockpit. The cockpit opened, and Eva sighed in relief, resting her head on the handlebars. Then she looked up at the roar of cheering from the crowd.

Jordan climbed into the cockpit and they grinned at each other.

"Toros has five victories and therefore qualifies for Oban," one of the Scrub judges announced. "The Earth Team has three victories and must wait for the results of the competition between Prince Aikka and Spirit."

Instantly the crowd booed. Eva looked around the stands and saw the Lupanian team snarling at the judges from the front row.

"If Prince Aikka wins, then the Earth Team qualifies for Oban. If Spirit wins, it creates a tie in his favor and the Earth Team will be disqualified from Oban."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jordan shouted angrily.

**-.oOOo.-**

"Spirit has beaten us before," Don said, causing everyone to look at him. "In the event of a tie, Spirit would have the advantage over us. _He_ would be the winner." He held up the scroll. "It's all clearly spelled out in these rules. We have to accept it." He turned and walked out of the control room.

**-.oOOo.-**

Later in the day, the Earth Team sat in the stands beside the Lupanian Team. Aikka's race with Spirit was about to begin. "You know that Aikka will lose this race on purpose so the Crog's can win," Jordan said. "Anyway, everyone knows the Nourasians are in the Crogs' pocket."

"Please, don't start with _that_ again," Eva said, irritated.

"I've met Aikka," Remus pitched in front behind Eva where he was sitting between Don Wei and Duncan. "He's cool. I don't think he'd throw a match."

"Believe what you want," Jordan said, "but I _saw_ them together."

"We now call forth, Prince Aikka of Nourasia!" Everyone looked to the right entrance where G'dar walked in with Aikka on his back. Aikka looked up at the stands and met Eva's eyes. Aikka looked away.

Remus narrowed his eyes after that little exchange. The slimy traitor _was_ going to throw the match. _Now way. He and Eva are friends, he wouldn't do that. _But then a voice in the back of his mind whispered, _They _were_ friends. All bets are off now._

Remus clenched his fists.

Spirit came in and transformed. The gate dropped and the race started. Spirit easily took the lead, and Aikka fell farther and farther back.

"Well, would ya look at that," Jordan commented. "The Prince isn't even _pretending_ to race."

"Jordan, Aikka's not like that. Nourasian Knights have honor. He _won't_ let me down!" Eva said firmly.

**-.oOOo.-**

G'dar struggled against Aikka. "No, G'dar," Aikka said. "This is not our day for victory." G'dar struggled harder. "I know…I feel the same way. We are betraying our friends and ourselves…this has to stop…" Aikka gazed ahead determinedly as he placed a hand on G'dar's shell. He said a magic spell, and the patterns on G'dar's shell glowed a bright blue and he flew ahead, faster and faster, catching Spirit. Spirit shot ahead again.

Aikka grabbed an arrow and fixed it on his bow. "You fight well, Spirit, but today, I _must_ win." He stood up, chanting another spell. The arrow tip glowed blue; Aikka aimed…and let it fly. It exploded in front of Spirit, blinding him. He hit the side of the track as it turned and fell to the ground.

Aikka flew ahead and crossed the finish line.

"The winner is Prince Aikka!" one of the Scrub judges shouted. "Those going to Oban are Toros with five victories, Prince Aikka with four and Earth with three."

**-.oOOo.-**

"I guess maybe Aikka isn't so bad," Jordan said. "Who knows? Maybe I'll even start to hate him a little less."

But Eva didn't hear him; she had jumped to her feet and stepped up onto the bench, grabbing Remus' shoulder's. "We're going to Oban!" she cried.

Remus punched the air. "Alright! We're going to Oban! Take that, Toros! Or…hm…"

"What?" Eva asked.

"Well, it would've been more humiliating for Toros if we _hadn't_ made it to Oban…" Remus commented.

"Remus, who cares!" She shook him. "We're going to Oban! We're one step closer to the Ultimate Prize!"

"_You_ are," Remus corrected. "But—" He was cut off as the Lupanian team (minus Duncan and Conner) tackled Eva to the ground.

"She's going to Oban! She's going to Oban!" the twins chanted.

Duncan rolled his eyes and pulled one of the twins off of Eva. "Lupita, knock it off." The rest of the team started to get off Eva, grinning widely. Duncan turned his gaze to the twin still on Eva. "Lupe, get off of her."

"How can you tell them apart?" Eva asked. "I can't."

"Trust me," Duncan said. "You don't want to be able to. It means your spending _far_ too much time with them than is physically and mentally healthy. Now, get off her Lupe."

Lupe appeared to be pondering that for a moment. Duncan grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off of Eva and dropped her to the ground.

"Hey! That hurt!"

"Good."

"Jerk," Lupe muttered and pouted.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don looked away from his team and started back to the hanger. Rick quickly caught up to him. "Hey, Don, what's up?" he asked. "The Earth Team just made it to Oban. You should be happy."

Don didn't answer.

"Oh, I get it," Rick said. "This is about Eva. Don't worry about the Little Mouse. She'll be fine. If she can beat Toros, she can beat anything."

"I don't like her taking so many risks," Don said. "You saw what she did today. And I swore that Maya was going to be the one to give me gray hairs. Maya at least had years of experience to back up her risky moves. Eva's only been fly…what? It can't be more than two weeks."

"I see," Rick said. "You were hoping that she wouldn't make it to Oban, weren't you?"

"The race is only going to get more dangerous from here, Rick," Don said. "There are no rules."

"You can't kill your opponent," Rick said.

"Even that rule is debatable," Don said. "You can't kill your opponent _intentionally_. Whose to decide what whether it was intentional or not?" They had reached the hanger. Don stopped, sighing and hanging his head. "Eva told me not to pull the Earth Team out of the race. I have no right to stop her."

"You're her _father_," Rick said. "You've got all the right in the world!"

Don looked away and opened the door to the hanger. He stepped inside and left Rick standing outside, hands on his hips, looking annoyed.

**-.oOOo.-**

The sun had almost set when Eva entered Rick's room. "Rick? Are you here?" She stopped and stared. His room was empty. The only thing left was a stone with a strange symbol carved on it.

She quickly found Stan and Koji. "Have you guys seen Rick?"

"Hey," Koji said. "He left about half and hour ago."

"He had his backpack with him," Stan said.

"Thanks," Eva said and ran off.

**-.oOOo.-**

Duncan watched sadly as his team packed, getting ready to board the ship that would take them home.

"Why, hello there, Lupanian," said a voice behind him. He turned around to see Setis looking up at him. "What are you doing?"

"We're packing," Duncan said. "What does it look like we're doing?" He walked over to Hunter and pulled a bright red berry out of his pocket. Hunter quickly licked it up and swallowed. Instantly, Hunter shrank to the size of a normal wolf.

"Now, why would you be doing that? I thought you were with the Earth Team."

Duncan turned around and looked at Setis oddly. "Are you crazy? We're completely different teams. You know that."

"We'll I'm just saying that I was sure you were going to stick around a little longer," Setis commented. "Help them with training and all."

"Training?"

"Don't you know? The three remaining teams have an extra week on Alwas to prepare for Oban," Setis said. "I merely thought you might be staying a little longer."

"Would we have transport home?"

"Why, of course!" Setis said.

"Very well then. We're staying a little longer." Duncan turned around to tell his team the news.

Setis grinned. "Very good, very good! I'm sure Eva will appreciate the help."

Duncan frowned. "How did you—?" He turned around but there was no one there.

**-.oOOo.-**

"Rick! Rick!" Eva looked around frantically, but couldn't see any sign of Rick.

"Are you looking for someone, Eva?"

Eva turned around and looked at Setis. "Have you seen Rick?"

"Rick? Why, yes. He's over there, preparing to go back to Earth," Setis explained.

"Earth?" Eva exclaimed. Then she ran passed Setis. "Rick! Wait up!"

Rick turned around. "Hey, there, Little Mouse. What're you doing here?"

"Rick, what are you doing?" Eva asked.

"I'm going back to Earth," Rick said. "Racing's over for me. It's time to think about my new life."

"But we still need you!"

"I've taught you all I know," Rick said. He ruffled Eva's hair. "You'll do fine. Although, there's one thing I've got to tell you first. You need to talk with your father. He really cares about you. What ever reason he had for leaving you has to be a good one."

Eva opened her mouth, paused and then closed it looking away.

"Give him a second chance, Little Mouse," Rick said. "Otherwise, you'll never grow as a person."

"I'll try. I can't promise anything, but I'll try."

"That's all I ask," Rick said. "My ship's about to leave, so good luck on Oban, Little Mouse. Whatever you want that prize for, I hope you get it." He started toward the ship again.

"Rick! Wait!" Rick turned to look at her. "Thank you…for everything."

Rick smiled and waved at her before running onto the ship. The door closed and drifted a good way away from the dock before shooting up into the air. Eva watched it until she couldn't see it anymore and then turned around. She froze. Her father was at the end of the dock, watching the sky. He looked down and locked eyes with her.

Eva took a deep breath and walked up to him. "Tomorrow," she said softly, not looking at him. "That's when I'll listen to what you have to say."

"Thank you, Eva," Don whispered.

"I'm not saying I'll forgive you," she said, still keeping her gaze to the ground. "But I'll listen."

"That's all I can really ask of you," Don said.

Eva didn't respond. Instead, she walked passed him toward the hanger.

**-.oOOo.-**

As Remus walked through the hanger, he felt a shiver run up and down his spine. He stood and looked around. There was only one door to his left; it was Rick's room. Remus entered and looked around. There was only one thing in it. A strange stone with a symbol similar to the Avatar's etched on it was sitting on a table.

Remus walked over and picked it up. Almost instantly, he dropped it with a yelp and jumped back as though he had been burned. He shivered. Then he kicked it away from him. What ever that was, he didn't like it. It wasn't dangerous in and of itself but whatever had once had it had been.

Still shivering, Remus left the room quickly.

_**Chapter preview: The Curse of the Lupanian – Part one **– Bardawulf ran into the Earth hanger, bouncing up and down like a little kid on a sugar high. "Guys, guys, guys! Guess who else is staying with us!"_

"_Okay, Barda, we give up," Lily said. "Who is it?"_

"_The Jubalins!" _

"_Barda," Lily said seriously, "you didn't do anything to _make_ them stay, did you?"_

_Bardawulf glanced around nervously. "No…"_

"_BARDA!!" _

Okay, sorry if this chapter seems rushed, but its been a while since I updated and I wanted to get this up for you guys. That's part of why this preview isn't all that great. Once again, if you noticed any spelling mistakes, please let me know.

NINE REVIEWS, PLEASE!


	18. The Curse of the Lupanian Part One

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Oban Star-racers! Still own my Lupanians and Jubalins.

**Important!**: This chapter has spoilers for episode 21, namely the part where Don and Eva talk. The result will be a little different (although, when I was watching that episode, I was pretty sure that it was heading there if they hadn't been interrupted), but if you haven't seen that episode yet and don't wish to be spoiled, I'll be placing a marker at the beginning of the spoilers and at the end. I'll admit skipping that part _might_ make it a little difficult to follow for a tiny bit, but it'll pass.

If this seems pointless to some, please remember that some countries haven't finished the series yet and might not be as far as ep. 21 yet. **After this though, you read at your own risk.**

On another note, I think I've now just resolved all the major issues that can be resolved earlier so now I've got a whole ton of wiggle room. That might mean that some chapters take a while longer to write, like this one did, because they're _no longer _following the _original story plan_ quite like they used to. coughcough

Also, if anyone has any questions from _any_ of the previous chapters that they want to ask me that hasn't yet been resolved (please refrain from asking me questions that you asked in a review unless I haven't answered them yet, either in a chapter or through a review response) you can ask me them here: www. oban starracers. com/ forum/view topic.php?t280 (remove the spaces). **I'll also be responding to anonymous reviews there as well. There will also be polls, asking questions about this story, such as the one currently up about whether or not you want the Jubalins and Lupanians to go to Oban. It would be appreciated if you answered the questions in the poll instead of a review because it makes it easier to keep track of all the answers. **

Moon and Star

Ch.18: The Curse of the Lupanian – Part One

When Eva entered the kitchen the next morning, she stopped and stared. The whole Lupanian team, minus Gerwulf, was sitting at the now very crowded table with the Earth Team. "What's going on?" she asked.

One of the twins (Lupe?) looked up, her black, red streaked hair falling out of her eyes. "We're staying a little while longer," she said.

The other twin (Lupita?) looked up. "Something about helping you train."

"Lupita," Duncan said to the one sitting next to him, "don't you _dare_ try to steal my potatoes."

Lupita hastily put her hand by her plate. "I wasn't doing anything."

Remus and Don Wei entered the kitchen and stared. Don opened his mouth, but was cut off suddenly.

Bardawulf ran in, bouncing up and down like a little kid on a sugar high. "Guys, guys, guys! Guess who else is staying with us!"

"Okay, Barda, we give up," Lily said. "Who is it?"

"The Jubalins!"

"Barda," Lily said seriously, "you didn't do anything to make them stay, did you?"

Bardawulf glanced around nervously. "No…"

"BARDA!"

Eva had the feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

**-.oOOo.-**

To say the Jubalin pilot was angry would be the understatement of the century. To say the Jubalin _gunner_ was angry would be the understatement of the _millennia._

"MOON GODS! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" Agrona shouted, pounding on the hanger doors furiously. "GET OUT HERE SO I CAN BLOW YOU ALL TO HELL!"

While Agrona's fury made her more violent, Andraste's made her more sarcastic.

"Gee, Agrona, I'm _sure_ they're going to let us in _now,_" Andraste said.

The door was thrown open suddenly. Agrona's eyes widened. "Oh hell no…"

Bardawulf fell to his knees in front of her, grasping her paw-like hands in his. "My dear, Agrona! It is a pleasure to meet you again." He kissed one of her hands. "As beautiful as always, I see."

"Er…"

Andraste snickered.

Agrona snatched her hand away. "You," she growled. Bardawulf looked surprised. "You're the reason we're stuck here!" She snarled and lunged at him, trying to strangle him. Bardawulf toppled over.

"Agrona," Andraste said slyly, "I never knew you felt _that_ way about the Moon God."

Agrona leapt backward off of Bardawulf as though she had been burned. "Oh, Holy Spirit! Don't joke like that! I could _never_ feel _anything_ but distain for a Moon God."

"Not even _your_ Moon God?" Bardawulf asked hopefully.

Agrona spun around and tried to slapped him, but he dodged quickly. "YOUR NOT MY ANYTHING!"

"Of course he's not," Andraste said, rolling her eyes. "It's not as if you haven't been ranting and raving about him since you met him. And knowing you as I do, you're head over heels in love with him."

"I AM NOT!"

"You are?" Bardawulf asked eagerly, eyes alight.

"I just said I'm not!" Agrona said furiously. "Don't you listen?"

"People always deny their feelings," Bardawulf said dismissively. He turned to Andraste. "So, is she really?"

"Yup," Andraste said.

"People?" Agrona fumed. "I'm a JUBALIN!" She lunged at him again, but this time Andraste grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back. Agrona stretched her arms out as far as she could, swiping at the air like she was trying to claw Bardawulf's eyes out.

"Agrona, wait until you two can get a room, please," Andraste said dryly.

Agrona immediately stopped fighting. "The only way to get you to stop lying and making fun of me is to stop trying to kill him…isn't it?"

"It would be a start."

Agrona slumped like a dead weight. Andraste staggered and let her go. Agrona collapsed to the ground and sighed, staring up at the sky. Bardawulf leaned over her. "So?" he asked.

Agrona placed an arm over her eyes. "Go away."

"But I don't want to…"

"Uh, Bardawulf, why don't you let _me_ handle this, okay?" Agrona removed the arm from over her eyes to see a black haired boy with glasses.

"Oh, that's right! Yeah, okay," Bardawulf said, sounding a little dejected, but he walked away none the less.

"Hey, um, Agrona, look," the black-haired man said, "do you think you could give Bardawulf a chance? I know he comes on strong, but he really is a good guy."

Agrona sighed. "Just how many times do I have to spell it out for you people? We're too different species. It _wouldn't work._"

"You don't know that for sure."

"_Yes._ I _do._"

"You can't even give it a shot?" Koji asked almost pleadingly.

"_No_," Agrona said firmly, standing up. "And if you ask me one more time, I'll rip your arm off and beat you with the bloody end…no joke."

Koji rubbed his shoulder nervously. "Okay. I'll back off. But you might want to tell that to Bardawulf."

"I'll be sure to." With that, Agrona stalked off towards the Jubalin hanger.

"Uh, wait! On a side note, where's the rest of your team?" Koji called.

"Back at the hanger. Now get lost!" she shouted back over her shoulder; she proceeded to walk away.

Stan, who had been watching from the hanger entrance, asked, "Andraste?"

"Hm?" Andraste, who had been about to follow her partner, paused and turned around.

"She, uh…_does_ know that when you tell someone to get lost, _they're_ the ones that are supposed to walk away, right?"

**-.oOOo.-**

**(Spoilers begin)**

"Eva."

Eva turned around to face Don Wei. "Yes, sir?"

"I think it's time we talked," he said.

Eva looked away. "Okay." She walked down the hall and into her room, sitting down on her bed. She drew her knees up to her chest as her father found a chair to sit on.

Neither of them spoke for a minute. Finally, looking at her knees, Eva said softly, "I used to imagine what it would be like when you finally found out who I was. I would rush into your arms and you would hug me…and all those lost years would be forgiven… But now that it's happened…I don't feel a thing."

"There is…so much to explain to you, Eva, and so many reasons why you must hate me," Don said sadly.

"Try me," Eva challenged, her gaze hard.

Don looked away. "After your mother's terrible crash…" Eva gasped and looked away. "I fell to pieces. Maya was the love of my life. She was…an _amazing_ pilot. I pushed her to compete in the first interplanetary race. In only a few short years, she had become a legend; the first pilot to win all three league championships. I knew this would be her crowning achievement; she was, quite simply, the best." A faint smile, a mixture of pride and sorrow, appeared on his face quickly before disappearing again; Eva looked up at him.

"She made it to the finals with her usual ease, oblivious of the dangers around her. …That was her charm. But the race was taking its toll. I could _feel_ it," he continued. "The other finalist was an alien, one of those polymorphic creatures…the _Filhz_." He spat the name.

"Spirit," Eva whispered. _Should I tell him…? No, not yet. Now's not the time._

"He had the reputation of being a very aggressive pilot," Don said. "I had misgivings about that race; a premonition of things to come." Don closed his eyes, pained. "I failed to stop her." He leaned forward, and placed his head in his hands.

Eva stared at him, stunned. He blamed himself for her mother's crash…? She looked away; she was still angry at him leaving her, but now…now she felt sorry for him.

Don raised his head look at her. "I was…and I continue to be…a _danger_ to those I love." He sounded close to tears.

Eva lowered her head as tried her hardest to cry silently.

"I couldn't risk harming you, as well," he whispered. "You reminded me too much of Maya…"

Eva closed her eyes tightly. _He…he abandoned me for my own protection…?_

Don sounded almost broken as he said, "There was only one thing left to do."

"_Daddy!"_

"_Eva, I need you to promise me to be a good girl. Daddy's…to busy to…take care of you now."_

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done…but…I did it for you, Eva."

Tears poured down Eva's cheeks. She wiped them away and looked up. "Why did you ever call me? Why didn't you ever write? Why didn't you ever visit me?" She was suddenly getting angry again. She stood up. "Why?" she demanded.

Don looked at the floor. "It wasn't possible…I wasn't myself anymore. A man with no name…and no past."

Eva tried to control her growing fury as she said, "A few years later…that _shadow_ managed a racing team…the best on Earth. Did you think I didn't know?" She narrowed her eyes. She remembered sitting in a classroom in the Stern Boarding School as her classmates crowded around the TV, and she sat alone, as always, her knees drawn up to her chest. She remembered watching him as he told a reporter why his team was so successful…because they trusted each other and respected each other…they "were like a close family, really." She remembered how much that had hurt.

"Everyone knew!" she shouted. Then she growled, "Why didn't you contact me then?"

"I'm sorry," he said, closing his eyes. "I still couldn't face you. _I_ was the one who destroyed your mother…and our family…"

Eva turned away. "I saw your face so often in the magazine. I was so proud of you. I just always told myself you were too busy to visit." She remembered cutting out pictures of him and tacking them to her wall… "I got it into my head to become a pilot and waited around like an idiot for the day you'd suddenly drop from the sky without warning." She remembered working on her rocket seat and on the weekends and vacations the other students would go home with their parents. She always waited with them even though no one ever came…once she thought he had for a moment, but…she had quickly realized it was only someone that had looked like him.

"The other children thought I was an orphan," she said. "And they were right! I had no one!"

"I'm so sorry," Don said brokenly.

"I really wish you were," Eva growled. "The day I ran away from school and met you, you didn't even recognize me!"

Don remembered that day.

"_What's your name?" Don asked. _

"Um…it's um…" 

"_Well? Spit it out. We don't have all day," Don snapped._

_She looked around some more before giving Don a thoughtful look through narrowed eyes. "Um, it's um…" She looked away again. Suddenly, it seemed as though she had an idea. "My name's Molly," the girl said with a bit of a sheepish grin. _

"_Well, Molly, you're hired," Don said, shaking her hand. He began to explain the hours to her._

_Remus yelped. _

_Everyone spun to look at him. Thinking fast, Remus grabbed his foot. "Sorry," he muttered quickly. "Stubbed my foot…stupid crate…"_

_Raff gave Remus an odd look. "Remus, you're about three feet away from that crate."_

_Remus glared up at Raff. "Oh, so I suppose you've never jumped back from something that's bit you?"_

"_Bit me? That's a crate, Remus, not a snake."_

"_Yeah, well, I still say it bit me…" Remus mumbled._

Don placed his head in his hands. Even Remus had known when she first appeared; it seemed so obvious now, looking back. "How could I not see…?"

**(Spoiler end)**

"I broke my neck for you for eight races before you finally figured it out," she said angrily. "What a joke! To you I was dead! I didn't exist!"

"No, that's not true!" Don protested.

"You left me!" Eva cried, tears spilling down her cheeks again. "I needed you and you left me! I lost Mom, but apparently that wasn't enough! I had to lose you, too? You left me!" Eva was barely able to speak now. "I needed you and you left me!" She glared at him furiously as the one thing she'd wanted to say to him since the race with Groor flew out of her mouth before she even realized what she'd said.

"I HATE YOU!"

She spun around and ran out of her room, nearly running right into Jordan who had been passing by.

Jordan watched her fly down the hall, confused. "Uh…hey, Eva! What's wrong!" he shouted, beginning to race after her.

Don stared at the door; Eva couldn't have hurt him more if she had slapped him.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus had seen Eva and Don go somewhere to talk and had slipped out of the hanger. He had nothing he needed to do around there, but there _was_ one thing he felt sound be mended…

He entered the Nourasian hanger and was immediately met with a shriek from G'dar which quickly attracted Aikka and Canaan.

"Remus?" Aikka asked surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you," Remus called, looking up at where Aikka stood on the balcony. "It's about Eva."

"Who?"

"Eva," Remus said. "That's Molly's real name."

Aikka's grip on the railing tightened. "Oh? So she's been lying to me even before our race?"

"She had her reasons for that," Remus said. "Which really aren't any of your concern anymore, since you've decided to stop being friends with her. Now get down here."

Aikka narrowed his eyes.

"Don't make me come up there," Remus warned.

"Very well."

"Prince Aikka," Canaan, his fencing master, said, "I don't think—"

"I'll be fine, Canaan," Aikka said firmly. Then he walked down the stairs and stood in front of Remus. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Eva," Remus said. "What happened during that race wasn't her fault."

"She gave her word—"

"Yes, but apparently while her word was good enough for you and your word was good enough for her, it wasn't for the rest of the team," Remus said, cutting him off. "She tried to keep her promise. She locked her gunner in the turret. He only fired because the mechanics got him out and he hates you and our manager wanted to spite Eva. It was everyone's fault but hers. She tried her best, but…well…"

"You expect me to believe this?" Aikka asked. "If this is true, then why didn't she come and tell me herself?"

"Would you really have talked to her if she did?" Remus asked.

Aikka was silent.

"Exactly."

Aikka turned away. "I will…think about what you have told me."

"Thank you. That's all I wanted," Remus said. When Aikka turned around again, he was gone.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus got back to the hanger and immediately sensed something was wrong. He figured it had something to do with the worried way that Jordan asked him if he'd seen Eva, but, hey, that was only a guess. He could be wrong.

"No," Remus said. "I haven't. Why? What's wrong?"

"I don't think her talk with Don Wei went all that well," Jordan said. "She ran out of the room, crying."

Remus' shoulders sagged. "Great. And here I was hoping the drama was behind us."

"You went through the same thing with your cousin," Jordan pointed out.

"True," Remus admitted. "Although, that was my _cousin_ not my _father_, and I was more angry at my aunts and uncles. Me being left alone after my parents died wasn't my cousin's fault. Eva being left was her father's fault. They've got major issues they need to work through."

"Yeah…I still can't believe that _Don Wei_ is Eva's _father_," Jordan said.

"Hhmm…" Remus commented absently. "Don't worry. I think I know where she's ended up. By the way, when do you get the bandage off?"

Jordan touched his temple. "Oh, this? I get it off this afternoon. In fact, I'd probably better get going. Thanks for mentioning it, Remus, I'd completely forgotten about it."

"No problem," Remus said. "I'll take care of Eva."

Jordan nodded and left the hanger.

Remus sighed and headed out onto the roof. He looked around, but she wasn't there. He placed his hands on his hips as he looked around and thought for a moment, his clothes whipping around in a strong gust of air.

Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. He knew where she was. He climbed down from the roof and ran toward the Lupanian hanger.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva pounded on the hanger door until someone opened it; she knew there was someone there as Lily, the twins and Conner had left a little while after the Jubalin team had visited them. _Come on, someone answer…wherever Remus is, this has be the best bet…_

Finally, Lily opened the door. "Eva? What's wrong?"

"It…my dad…is Remus here?"

"No, I'm sorry, he isn't," Lily said. "And I've got no idea where he could be. But, I'll listen if you want?"

Eva hesitated before nodding slowly. "Okay…thanks…"

They had just settled into the kitchen when Remus appeared. "Eva, there you are," he said. "I knew I'd find you here."

"Hey, Remus," Eva said softly.

Remus sat down at the table next to her. Lily sat across from them.

"So…I hear things didn't go well with your father, huh?" he said.

Eva shook her head.

"Tell me about it?" he asked.

Eva told him everything that had happened. When she finished, they sat in silence for a moment.

"I'm not really sure what to tell you, E," Remus said. "I'll admit that he gets points for trying to protect you, but I'll also admit that he didn't go about it in the best way. And that he was a bit of a coward, running from his problems…and he _should_ have contacted you, yes, but…and well…hm…I'm not really sure you should've told him you hate him, though. You don't really."

Eva lowered her gaze to the table. "I…I don't know anymore."

"You don't, trust me on this," Remus said. "Although, maybe letting that out is for the best, I mean…if you hadn't spoken your mind and let your feelings out it could've been a bigger explosion down the road."

"You sound as if you speak from experience, there, little cousin," Lily said.

Remus looked a little sheepish. "Trust me, you don't want to know the details."

"I'm sure I don't," Lily agreed.

"Maybe we should start training to get this off your mind for a while, eh?" Remus asked, standing up.

Lily rose. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Are you game, Eva?"

Eva sighed as she stood. "I guess so."

"Then let's go!" Remus said, grabbing Eva's arm and racing out the hanger, dragging her along with him.

"Wait for me, Remus!" Lily shouted, running after them.

**-.oOOo.-**

Stan and Koji looked toward the doorway; immediately they stopped checking over the Arrow 2. Gerwulf stood just inside the hanger, casting a critical eye over everything. His gaze finally landed on the Arrow. "Heh…can't see how this hunk of junk beat Toros," he muttered.

Stan and Koji glared at him. _No one_ insulted the Arrow.

Gerwulf strode forward arrogantly, stopping by the left reactor. Stan stepped toward him, but Koji placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "Are you crazy?" he whispered. "He could rip you to shreds."

Stan growled softly.

Gerwulf looked the reactor over, even taking a careful, thorough look at the engine. He took his fist out of his pocket and rapped it against the metal before slipping a hand forward to touch it. He smirked and turned to Stan and Koji.

"You just got lucky is all," he said before he left.

Stan and Koji had never even noticed that he had slipped something into the reactor.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva started up the Arrow while Duncan mounted Hunter. They were going to have a practice race. Since it was only practice, there wouldn't be a gunner (which Jordan was _very_ sore about). It would be two laps around the lake outside. Eva flexed her fingers and moved the Arrow forward gently out of the hanger. She glanced over her shoulder and saw her father watching her from the balcony. She immediately turned around.

Apologizing had never been her strong suite, and it was even harder when she wasn't even sure she _wanted_ to apologize.

Duncan appeared on the screen in the cockpit as they took their positions at the lake. Hunter was restless and ready go, looking as playful as ever.

"Are you ready, Eva?" Duncan asked.

"Definitely," she said. "I see that watch is working."

Duncan smiled. "It's a wrist band, actually, and yes, it's working. Obviously. Thankfully, this was one of the few things Bardawulf's created that hasn't blown up four or more times while he was working on it."

"How many times did it explode?" Eva asked.

"Three."

Eva rolled her eyes.

"Look alive!" Duncan said. "Conner's about to give the signal."

The screen disappeared, and Eva turned her gaze ahead of her. Conner rose his arm above his head…her grip tightened on the handles…Hunter tensed, ready to spring…Conner's arm fell.

Hunter and the Arrow shot forward.

It was only now that she was racing beside him that Eva finally realized just how _big_ Hunter was. He was easily keeping up with the Arrow and she was racing at his side. Duncan was looking _down_ at her. He was only a little higher up, granted, but he was still higher up.

Hunter suddenly veered right toward her; she hit the brakes and then shot forward. She opened the link between her and Duncan. "Hey! What was that for?" she demanded.

Duncan smirked. "Hey, this is a race after all." Then he closed the link, and Hunter lengthened his strides, taking a lead.

Eva growled and speed up; she caught up to him easily, but Hunter once again tried to ram her, forcing her to barrel roll up and over him; Duncan lay as flat on Hunter as he could.

Eva had just straightened out the Arrow when it was suddenly hit by laser fire. She glared at Duncan to see his wristband now had a gun barrel coming out of it.

"Geez," she muttered angrily, "just what did Bardawulf do to that thing?"

She flew up, down and swung to each side to avoid Duncan's laser fire. Duncan appeared on the hologram screen.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"This is a test your skills, Eva," Duncan said. "You don't need Jordan for this. That comes later with the help of the Jubalins."

"Jubalins? Now _they're_ in on this, too?" Eva exclaimed.

"Apparently, they didn't have anything better to do," Duncan said as they completed the first lap.

Suddenly, the Arrow was smashed against the ground. Eva cried out, nearly thrown from her seat. Hunter had jumped on the Arrow, but he was now running ahead of it. Eva pulled the Arrow up and straightened it out with difficulty. Finally, she was back under control and eating up the ground separating her and Duncan.

The left reactor exploded.

"EVA!" Don shouted.

The Arrow crashed to the ground, tearing apart. It skidded to a stop, engulfed in flames.

Everyone ran toward the wreckage. Duncan slipped off of Hunters back, and rushed back to the Arrow.

"EVA!" Don shouted, looking around frantically. "EVA!"

"She's not in the cockpit!" Remus shouted, coughing as smoke filled his lungs. He jumped down and stumbled away. The glass was broken, and flames were starting to lick the insides.

Don turned around. "EVA!" His gaze landed on the very edge of the water. Eva was laying there, eyes closed. She wasn't moving. Don ran forward and dropped to his knees beside her, gathering her in his arms. "Eva," he said softly but urgently, "Eva, wake up."

Eva groaned but didn't open her eyes.

Remus ran over. "Is she okay?"

"I…I don't know," Don said.

Duncan and the rest of the team had realized what was going on and rushed over. "What happened?" Duncan asked. "She was fine one minute and then the next—"

"We don't know," Koji said. "There was nothing wrong with the Arrow when we checked it before…before…" He trailed off, eyes growing wide as he turned to Stan. "He didn't…he wouldn't have…"

Stan's mouth dropped open slightly. "Oh no…"

"What? What's going on?" Lily demanded.

"There was nothing wrong with it the last time we checked it…before Gerwulf came to the hanger," Koji said. "He was looking at the Arrow…"

"He examined the left reactor…the one that exploded," Stan said.

"And you didn't check it after he looked at it?" Don demanded angrily. Eva was out cold with a nasty cut on her forehead that he was trying to stop from bleeding using the handkerchief from his pocket and this could've been avoided?

"I didn't think he would do anything like that," Stan said. "I mean I don't like him, but I never thought…"

Duncan clenched his fists and growled. "I never thought that either…I'll rip him limb from limb."

Lily looked at Remus, surprised that he would be silent. What she saw scared her. Remus was hunched over, glaring murderously at his curling hands, his teeth clenched. His canines looked more pronounced than ever, and his eyes had an eerie glow to them. His nails had sharpened to black claws. He was trembling and his hair looked longer and shaggy than before.

_Oh god…_ "Duncan," she said in a small voice, placing a hand on his arm. "Duncan!"

Duncan looked down at her. "Lily, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly. She was extremely pale. He followed her gaze; his eyes went wide.

"Oh shit." He grabbed Don and yanked him and Eva back roughly. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"

"What are you doing!" Don demanded.

"Duncan!" Jordan said. "Let him go! What's wrong with you? Can't you see that Eva's hurt? You're only going to make it worse!"

"We have bigger problems at the moment."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remus."

"What about—? Hey, Remus, are you alright?" Jordan asked worriedly, taking a step forward.

Duncan clamped a hand on his shoulder. "Don't go near him."

"What? Why? What's wrong?" Jordan asked worriedly.

"Just trust me; don't go near him, don't touch, him don't talk to him, don't do anything to make him turn his attention to you," Duncan said seriously. "I'll take care of this."

"Why you? What's wrong?"

"_You're_ not a Lupanian," Duncan said.

"What's wrong?!" Jordan shouted furiously. He rounded on Remus. "Remus, what's going on? Remus?"

"I'll kill him," Remus said with barely restrained fury. "I'll kill him, I'll rip out his throat and drink his blood." He narrowed his eyes, clenched his fists and trembled even more. Then he growled, "I'll make him beg for mercy. I'll make him pay."

Everyone took a step back.

"Remus?" Jordan asked weakly. Koji and Stan moved closer to Don and Eva. The Lupanian team clustered around them, and Duncan pulled Jordan back to stand behind him.

Remus gasped in pain, raising his head to the sky. He gave a strangled cry as his face began to elongate, his ears pointed and moved higher up on his head…black fur erupted all over his body; his clothes seemed to meld into fur. He fell forward onto his hands…shakily he moved his feet out from under him. He clenched his teeth as he grew a tail…

None of this was different from when he transformed regularly except that it was normally smooth and painless whereas this was slow and painful.

Remus screamed and collapsed to his side as his elbows broke and bent forward. They fused back together. His hands and feet turned into paws. His eyes glowed a pupil-less emerald green. He snarled furiously.

Right before their very eyes, Remus had transformed into a shaggy, black wolf a bit smaller than a Great Dane. Slippery ropes of drool hung from his fangs. He sniffed the wind…then threw back his head letting loose an eerie howl…and ran off toward the city, tearing up the ground and leaving a trail of gouged earth behind him.

"What was that?" Jordan demanded as soon as Remus was out of sight.

"That…is a Lupanian's…and everyone else's…worst nightmare," Duncan said. "That's the Lupanian Curse."

"The what?" Jordan asked.

"Come on. Hurry and get inside the hanger. We'll tend to Eva, and then we'll talk," Duncan said.

"She needs to go to a hospital," Don protested.

"It's not safe anymore," Duncan said. "Come on, hurry and get inside."

No one moved.

"GO!" he shouted furiously.

Immediately everyone started moving; Duncan sighed and shared a worried look with Lily. She was pale and extremely frightened.

"Duncan, what's going to happen to Remus?" she asked fearfully.

"He'll be fine," Duncan assured her, placing an arm around her shoulders. He looked in the direction Remus had disappeared. _I'm more worried about what'll happen to Gerwulf._

_**Chapter preview: The Curse of the Lupanian – Part Two **— "Alright, Duncan, you've got some explaining to do—all of you," Jordan said angrily. "What's going on? What's happened to Remus? What's this 'Lupanian Curse' you're so worried about?" _

_The Lupanian Team all shared a look. It was obvious what they were all thinking. _Guess I'm the spokes person, then,_ Duncan thought dryly. He looked at Don, Stan, Koji and Jordan. Eva was still unconscious in her bed, a bandage wrapped around her head. "Do you promise to let me finish before you interrupt and ask questions?"_

_The Earth Team shared a look and nodded. _

"_Very well then," Duncan said with a small sigh. "The Lupanian Curse…" _

I'm looking for at least nine reviews, please! And, once again, sorry this took so long! Also, once again, if you've noticed any spelling errors or inconsistencies please let me know so I can fix them.

Thanks for reading! Now review please! (falls on knees) PLEASE!


	19. The Curse of the Lupanian Part Two

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Oban Star-racers. I still own my Lupanians and Jubalins.

Moon and Star

Ch.19: The Curse of the Lupanian – Part Two

"Alright, Duncan, you've got some explaining to do—all of you," Jordan said angrily. "What's going on? What's happened to Remus? What's this 'Lupanian Curse' you're so worried about?"

The Lupanian Team all shared a look. It was obvious what they were all thinking. _Guess I'm the spokes person, then, _Duncan thought dryly. He looked at Don, Stan, Koji and Jordan. Eva was still unconscious in her bed, a bandage wrapped around her head. "Do you promise to let me finish before you interrupt and ask questions?"

The Earth Team shared a look and nodded.

"Very well then," Duncan said with a small sigh. "The Lupanian Curse… What all has Remus told you about Lupanians?"

"He told me that it was a myth that being bitten by a Lupanian will turn you into one," Don said. "He also told us about how Lupanians use scents to track and identify people."

"So he told you that was a myth?" Duncan asked. "Did he say anything else about it?"

"No. Why?"

"Oh boy." Duncan sat down and leaned back against the wall. "Did he say anything else? About Lupanians and werewolves?"

"Only that Lupanians were what we would call werewolves," Don said.

"That's what I was afraid of." Duncan rubbed a hand across his face. He sighed. "Alright…here's the thing… There's a difference between werewolves and Lupanians…and Lupanians are the root cause of werewolves." He was silent for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to explain it.

"Alright. Lupanians came first. There was no such thing as a werewolf until humans found us and started killing us. We fought back and, in our fury, we transformed into large wolves, biting our attackers and inflicting them with an odd disease. During the three nights of the full moon, they would transform into wolves and attack anyone and anything in their path. Whole villages and towns were slaughtered and all it took was one werewolf. Most times there was more than one. A werewolf bite will _always_ turn you into one…_if _you survive the encounter.

"Being a werewolf means being entirely alone. You can't hang around humans because the wolf—the demon—is always just below the surface. It's possible for a werewolf to act ferally outside of the three full moon nights while still humans. And it's hard to live in a pack because the wolves want to establish a pecking order but often human pride prevents them from doing so. If a pack sticks at it long enough, they maybe able to do it—there's a werewolf pack that lives in Yellowstone with us and it's our job to keep them away from people during the full moon—but they manage to pull it off alright. Anyway, that's what the Lupanian Curse is. To be a complete outcast…and the wolf isn't going to let you kill yourself and it isn't going to leave. If you're lucky and you manage not to taste human flesh for seven years, the wolf will leave and you'll no longer be a werewolf. But most times…that doesn't happen. The chances are one in one hundred _billion_ if not more.

"That form Remus is in now is the form a Lupanian takes when they want to inflict a punishment worse than death. For Lupanians, the curse is that the people we love—our friends and families and significant others—" (Duncan's eyes darted to Lily for a split second) "—bring out the worst in us.

"If Gerwulf isn't dead by nightfall, he will be by sunrise," Duncan finished.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus growled, stalking through town in the shadows. He sniffed; his ears twitched and he bared his fangs with a snarl. Soon…very soon…

**-.oOOo.-**

"Remus? Kill someone?" Koji said. "That…just doesn't seem possible."

"I know, but it is," Duncan said. Lily looked sick.

"If he's after Gerwulf and no one else, why can't we take Eva to the hospital?" Don demanded.

"Because Gerwulf is a Lupanian, a bite from Remus won't turn him into a werewolf. We've got a special immunity to our own disease so we can only be carriers. Since Remus won't be able to deliver the disease, he'll kill Gerwulf. But that won't fulfill him. In his current state of mind, he'll go after _anyone_ who has ever hurt Eva," Duncan said, "until he finally infects someone. So it's not safe to leave."

"Well…Eva's forgiven us…" Jordan said. "The only time we've ever really hurt her is during the race with Prince Aikka and she forgave us."

"But in Remus' current state of mind, the injury may seem fresh and unforgiven," Duncan replied. It was important they understood this. "But he probably won't be after you or Stan or Koji. Don, here, as given Eva ten _years_ of pain. If anything, that'll be what'll stick out most clearly in his mind."

Lupita spoke up suddenly. "Not necessarily. Is there anyone else that's hurt Eva recently? He'll attack them if he comes across them first."

Jordan shook his head. "Not that I can think of."

"What about Prince Aikka?" Koji asked. "They were friends before their race. I mean, it has to have hurt that he didn't think highly enough of her to even consider that it wasn't her fault."

"Nah," Stan said, shaking his head. "What else was he supposed to think? Nourasians are 'all about honor', after all."

"We can't take any chances," Duncan said. "Someone will have to go warn him."

Bardawulf stepped forward. "I'll do it. The Nourasian pit is near the Jubalin one so I'll warn them as well. Right now, they might seem like food to Remus…"

Duncan nodded, and Bardawulf left.

The sun was beginning to set.

"I think someone should start making dinner," Duncan said. "I'm getting hungry. And perhaps get some weapons ready? I honestly don't know how well that steel door will help if he's determined to get through."

"We're on it," Jordan and Hemming said at once. Hemming still had messy hair, bags under his eyes and was pale and sickly looking. However, his eyes were now sharp and alert. Duncan only hoped that newfound strength would last. It was very fortunate that Hemming had managed to get a few goodnights' sleep over the past few days.

Lily walked over to Duncan and sat down beside him. Duncan transformed back to his human form and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. She rested her head against his shoulder, looking like she was about ready to cry.

"Duncan," she whispered after a minute of silence, "are we…going to have to kill Remus?"

"No," Duncan said firmly, wiping away a tear that had escaped out of the corner of her eye. "He'll snap out of it long before it ever comes to that."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked softly. "It's happened before. In order to protect the target, the Lupanian has been destroyed because it couldn't be subdued… You can't subdue a Lupanian when they're like this… We won't be able to stop Remus…" Her tears were flowing freely now.

"We're _not_ going to have to kill him," Duncan said determinedly. "It just won't happen."

"I hope you're right…" She buried her head in his shoulder. Duncan pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

Don turned his gaze to Eva. The bandage had a red bloodstain on it, but it hadn't spread at all in the past fifteen minutes, which was good. Duncan had prepared some strange mixture that he'd forced Eva to swallow and had smeared on the wound itself. When Don had asked what it was, Duncan had said that it was a healing brew. When asked what was in it, he responded that Don didn't want to know.

Whatever it was, it appeared to be working.

A while later, the smell of something cooking reached the room. Five minutes later, Hemming appeared in the doorway. "Dinner's ready. It's pasta."

Lily snorted. Pasta was her favorite, and she knew Conner had made it to try and make her feel better.

"Come on," Duncan said. "We should eat." He rose to his feet, pulling Lily with him. He turned to Don. "You ought to come, too."

"I'm not hungry," Don said.

"You need to keep your strength up," Duncan said. "And keep healthy. …For Eva."

Duncan knew he'd said the magic words when Don rose and followed them out of the room to the kitchen.

**-.oOOo.-**

Gerwulf sat at a bar, drinking an alien version of beer. He chuckled to himself. His plan had originally been to overthrow Duncan and take his place as Alpha over the team, but this had been _so_ much better. He took another sip of his drink.

Suddenly a violent shiver ran up and down his spine; he nearly spilled his drink. Spinning around, he saw that the street had gone deathly silent, and everyone was staring at something down the road. Gerwulf stood up and walked towards the middle of the road to see what was going on.

His blood turned to ice.

Standing in the middle of the road, about thirty feet away, with pupil-less, glowing emerald eyes was a shaggy, black wolf the size of a Great Dane.

_Oh shit._

The wolf snarled, baring its fangs. A string of drool dripped to the ground. Its hackles were raised, and it looked furious. Gerwulf turned and ran, transforming into his Lupanian form in the blink of an eye. The wolf waited for a second before chasing after him, tearing up the ground as it ran.

It was eating up the distance between them ravenously.

Gerwulf turned into a narrow alleyway as the wolf snapped at his feet. The wolf skidded as it tried to turn. It went passed the alley, giving Gerwulf a five second lead. But it wasn't enough.

The wolf lengthened its stride and caught up to him. It bit his foot. Gerwulf crashed to the ground. He flipped over just in time to grab its throat. Its jaws snapped furiously less than an inch from his face. It raised its paw and placed it in the crook of his arm and pushed down. Slowly his arm was pinned to the ground.

The wolf pulled back and clamped down on Gerwulf's free arm. It snapped like a twig. Gerwulf screamed. The wolf lunged forward, snapping its jaws onto his head. With a violent jerk of its head, there was a sickening snap and a crunch.

Gerwulf's neck had snapped, and his skull had shattered.

**-.oOOo.-**

Bardawulf pounded on the Jubalin hanger door. He didn't dare say anything because he knew Agrona might not open the door if she knew it was him. _Please…open up,_ he thought desperately.

"I'M COMING! SHUT UP!"

The sliding door was flung open, revealing an angry Agrona. "You! What do _you_ want?"

"We have a huge problem," Bardawulf said quickly. He gave her a brief run down of Remus and the Lupanian Curse. "Please come to the Earth hanger. You'll be safe there…please?"

"We'll be fine here," Agrona said. "Andraste and I can take care of ourselves."

"Agrona, please!" Bardawulf begged. "Please, just do this! I'll never bother you again, I swear!"

Agrona eyed him suspiciously. "You promise?"

Bardawulf hesitated. Then he swallowed. "Yes."

"I'll hold you to that," she said, turning back into the hanger. "ANDRASTE!"

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus licked the blood from Gerwulf's wounds. The cause of his anger was dead, but still…

He wasn't satisfied.

This wasn't the proper punishment. Gerwulf was supposed to live cursed and alone, suffer a punishment worse than death…

Something gnawing at the back of his mind, whispering in his ear told him,_ "He wasn't the only one to hurt, E. There were others. This one may have caused the explosion, but everyone else got her there."_

Remus snarled, eyes glowing brighter. He was vaguely aware of something fading away, slipping through his fingers, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what. The only thing that stood out clearly in his mind was the voice of the wolf, his oldest friend and a part of him. They had never spoken before, but Remus had always been aware of his presence, particularly when he was in pain or angry and was acting off of instinct and emotion.

"_E never would've been in that Star-racer at that time if it hadn't been for the others… She wouldn't be hurt right now…"_

Remus growled, sniffing the air. He turned around and left that alley for another one, making his way toward the Earth hanger.

**-.oOOo.-**

Bardawulf accompanied the two Jubalins on the way to the Earth hanger until they passed the Nourasian hanger. "Hold on," he said. "We have to make a quick stop."

The sun had just about set now. It was only a line of light on the horizon.

Bardawulf entered the hanger and was meet with a screech from the Prince's mount. Canaan rushed into the pit, sword drawn. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he demanded.

Bardawulf put his hands up. "Relax. I just need to speak with Prince Aikka."

"He's not here."

Bardawulf's heart sank. "He's not?"

"No."

"Can you tell me where he is? It's really important. It could be a life or death matter."

Canaan lowered his sword slightly, looking worried. "He went for a walk."

Bardawulf quickly returned to Agrona and Andraste. "I need you to get to the Earth hanger as fast as you can. I need to find Prince Aikka. Will you be alright?"

Agrona's eye and ear twitched. "What do _you_ think?" she asked irritably.

A smile flashed across Bardawulf's face before disappearing into a frown. "Right." He turned and ran toward the city.

**-.oOOo.-**

Toros was just about to contact his leaders to give them the newest developments with the race when he heard something crash inside the pit. Irritated, he went to see what it was. Looking around carefully, he didn't see anything.

A shadow moved.

His yellow eyes snapped to that spot, but there was nothing there.

There was a flash of emerald eyes.

Toros' eyes darted to where they had been. He wasn't sure whether to be irritated that someone or something had the nerve to break into his pit or uneasy of an unseen opponent. He became consciously aware that the only part of his body not covered in armor was his head and neck.

Behind him there was a snarl.

The sun had now set.

**-.oOOo.-**

After fifteen minutes, Bardawulf was getting increasingly frustrated and worried; no one he talked to had seen Aikka.

_Come on, Prince, where'd you go?_ he wondered. Finally fed up with searching the city, (Aikka obviously wasn't there) he headed toward the beach.

**-.oOOo.-**

Aikka looked out at the black water from the cliff, lost in thought. Had he perhaps been wrong about Molly…Eva? She had certainly seemed to be silently cheering for him in his race with Spirit when he had met her eyes before the race started. Or was that simply because his victory was their ticket to Oban?

"_Aikka, wait! I can explain!"_

Had that merely been a tactic to try and regain his trust so she could use him or betray him again in a more crucial point of the race? Or had she really had an honest explanation like Remus had said?

Either way, he was beginning to feel bad about not at least hearing her side of the story. Now that he thought about, she _had_ turned the Arrow to the side, which was the reason he had avoided being hit.

Aikka sighed and turned around. Suddenly, he froze. Standing ten feet in front of him was a wolf with black fur and emerald eyes, covered in unbelievable amounts of black blood—Crog blood. He instantly knew he was looking into the eyes of hell…and it was angry.

_**Chapter preview: The Curse of the Lupanian – Part Three **– Lily was pacing back and forth nervously._

"_Lily," Duncan said, "could you please stop pacing? You're making me nervous. I'm sure Remus and Bardawulf are fine. Relax, okay?"_

"_Bardawulf's been gone for too long!" Lily exclaimed. _

"_I'm sure he's fine!"_

"_And what about Remus?" _

"_I'm sure he's fine too!" Duncan exclaimed. Lily glared at him. "Honest!"_

_She was about to snap at him when there was a furious knocking on the hanger door. She and Duncan shared a look before he cautiously slid the door open barely an inch. _

"_Well, Moon God, are you going to let us in?"_

_It was Agrona and Andraste. _

Hope you liked it. I wanted to get this one up quickly to make up for the long wait on the last one. I hope this doesn't seem rushed.

NINE REVIEWS PLEASE!


	20. The Curse of the Lupanian Part Three

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Oban Star-racers but I _do_ own the Lupanians and Jubalins.

Moon and Star 

Ch.20: The Curse of the Lupanian – Part Three

Lily was pacing back and forth nervously.

"Lily," Duncan said, "could you please stop pacing? You're making me nervous. I'm sure Remus and Bardawulf are fine. Relax, okay?"

"Bardawulf's been gone for too long!" Lily exclaimed.

"I'm sure he's fine!"

"And what about Remus?"

"I'm sure he's fine too!" Duncan exclaimed. Lily glared at him. "Honest!"

She was about to snap at him when there was a furious knocking on the hanger door. She and Duncan shared a look before he cautiously slid the door open barely an inch.

"Well, Moon God, are you going to let us in?"

It was Agrona and Andraste.

"Agrona!" Lily exclaimed, rushing forward as they entered. "Where's Bardawulf?"

"He went to find Prince Aikka. He wasn't at his hanger," she said.

"Did you see Gerwulf or Remus?"

"No, we didn't see a rabid moron or an aspiring murderer," Agrona said.

"Remus isn't rabid!" Lily shouted.

"I never said he was," Agrona said. Lily blanched. Agrona smirked. "But, yes. He is."

Lily scowled. Duncan stepped between them before Lily could reply.

"Agrona, Andraste, would you like some weapons?" Duncan asked. "And a room to stay in?"

"We don't need a room," Andraste said. "We can just sleep here in the pit."

"And as for weapons…" Agrona went back outside and reentered carry a gun that looked almost exactly like Jordan's. She patted it as Jordan stared.

"Hey! That looks like mine!" he said.

"Fool," Agrona said, sneering at him. "That weapon was biased off _our_ technology. Do you honestly think that we'd be able to handle the stuff _you_ Earthling's come up with? It's too oddly shaped. _This_," Agrona patted the gun again, "is _so_ much better."

"Now, I know that I'd, at least, like to know one thing," Andraste said. "Bardawulf said that the Lupanian Curse only activates when someone you really care about is hurt or whatever. Does Lycaon have a thing for the girl?"

"A thing?" Lily blinked. "No, they're just friends."

"Likely story," Agrona mumbled. "You don't go psycho killer on everybody unless it's your girlfriend."

"Is that so?" Lily asked angrily. "Andraste, are you Agrona's friend?"

"Yes, her best. What's your point?" Andraste asked.

"Agrona, what would you do if someone tried to kill Andraste when she'd done nothing wrong?" Lily asked.

"Even if she'd done something wrong, _no one_ messes with me or my friends," Agrona growled. "I'd kick their—"

"My point has just been proven," Lily said.

"Yes, I'd hurt them," Agrona said, "but I wouldn't hunt them down and kill them. And I certainly wouldn't go after _everyone_ who'd _ever_ hurt her. Personally, I think your little cousin is a bit crazed."

"Remus isn't crazy!" Lily shouted.

Duncan placed a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, Lily. She's just trying to bait you."

"And doing wonderfully," Agrona said with a smug smile.

Duncan glared at her. "Could you please stop doing that?"

"Of course not, Moon God," Agrona replied.

"Would you please stop calling me that at least?" Duncan asked. "I don't like being mocked."

"You liking it isn't the point," Agrona said. Then she smiled. "Besides, I'm sure your girlfriend keeps you plenty happy, doesn't she?"

"Wha…?" Duncan stopped short, catching Agrona's meaning. "You! That's it! I've had it!" Duncan lunged at Agrona, who side-stepped. Duncan spun around, snarling, teeth bared. Agrona smiled.

"Bring it," she said.

Duncan leapt at her again.

Hemming watched them for a moment before turning to Lily. "Don't you think you should stop this?"

Lily smiled and sat down on a crate. "Nope. I'm enjoying myself."

Hemming sighed. "Guess it's up to me isn't it?" He walked forward, transforming into his Lupanian form. He grabbed Agrona by the back of her vest and picked her up off the ground.

"Hey!" Agrona shouted. "Put me down! Don't make me bite your hand off!"

Hemming sighed again. "Listen, I'm too tired to deal with this, so if you two could just get along…?"

"I'm the Alpha here, not you!" Duncan said.

"Perhaps at the moment," Hemming said, "but what would your father think if he knew you weren't behaving appropriately?"

Duncan froze; Hemming couldn't tell if Duncan had paled or not because he was in his Lupanian form and the fur covered things like blushing and blanching, but he would bet on his life that Duncan had paled considerably.

Jordan looked back and forth between Duncan and Hemming. "Whose your father?" he asked.

"Alpha Cheveyo," Hemming said. "The Alpha of the Lupanians. Along with your mother, Alpha Camarin."

"They're not my parents!" Duncan said.

"What do you mean?" Stan asked. "Which one is it?"

Hemming sighed. "Technically, they're not his parents. They're just foster parents…of a sort."

"Of a sort?" Koji asked.

"My _real_ parents were killed by Hunters only two months before this race began. Apparently, in their will, they stated that they wanted Alpha Cheveyo and Alpha Camarin to take me in," Duncan explained. "But they're not my parents. They're not _ever_ going to replace them!"

Lily walked up to Duncan and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Duncan, they're not trying to take your parents' place. They're trying to take care of you."

"Just like my parents," Duncan shot back.

"Well, _duh,_ that's their role now," Lily said. "Honestly, Duncan! They've filled in the role of your parents, but their not trying to _replace_ them. They're not trying to make you forget that your parents ever existed. They aren't forcing you to call them 'mom' and 'dad' are they?"

"No," Duncan said, looking away.

"Good then," Lily said. "Now can we all just calm down and stop baiting each other." She looked pointedly at Agrona.

"What?" Agrona exclaimed. "Why does everyone always look at me?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Gee, I wonder…"

**-.oOOo.-**

Aikka's heart was pounding and a bead of sweat trailed down his face. The wolf took a step forward. Aikka took a step back…and his foot slipped off the edge of the cliff. He quickly regained his balance.

_Why did I have to leave my bow at the hanger?_ he wondered, unsheathing his dagger.

The wolf's glowing emerald eyes locked on the weapon, and it snarled. There was human blood on its teeth.

Aikka's heart stopped. _Molly!_

The wolf seemed to smirk knowingly.

"If you hurt Molly…" Aikka growled.

The wolf gave him an odd but furious look…it almost seemed as though it were asking 'why do _you_ care?'…then it lunged. Aikka dove under it; it almost over leapt over the edge of the cliff. It, too, regained its balance and lunged again. Aikka rolled over, holding up his dagger—

The wolf was smashed into from the side. A tangle of fur, teeth and claws was underway before Aikka even realized what had happened. He stared at the wolf and the Lupanian, moving backwards, getting to his feet.

The Lupanian punched the wolf on the side of the head. "GO!" he shouted, turning to Aikka. "Run! To the Earth hanger! GO!"

The wolf leapt on the Lupanian's back, knocking it over and pinning it to the ground. The wolf bit the crook of the Lupanian's neck. The Lupanian reached behind him and grabbed a fist full of the wolf's fur and yanked it forward. The wolf toppled forward and onto its back. The Lupanian punched it again, then gripped its throat tightly in its hands.

Aikka hesitated…then ran. He hated to flee, but he was armed only with a weapon that was obviously going to be no good and the Lupanian seemed to have things under control.

A pained scream made him turn around. He froze; the Lupanian was hanging onto the edge of the cliff and, from what Aikka could see, he was bleeding heavily. The wolf stood over it, growling. Then it turned to look at Aikka. Green eyes locked with blue. Aikka flew toward the Earth hanger. The wolf tore after him with a deep, booming bark and a snarl.

Aikka thanked whatever deity was listening that the Earth Hanger was within sight.

But it wasn't close enough.

The wolf swiped at his feet, tripping him. It was on him in a second.

"Hey! Remus!" The wolf looked up, startled…and was instantly shot at. The laser missed, scorching the wolf's fur as it passed. The wolf yelped and jumped back, squirming. It fell to its opposite side and tried to lick the wound.

"Hurry up, Prince!"

Aikka jumped to his feet and saw Jordan holding a gun. Jordan waved him forward. "Come on, we gotta get inside!"

They ran for the hanger. They slammed the door shut just as Remus leapt for them. The door trembled violently as Remus hit it, bounced back and struck again and again.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don was just about to enter Eva's room when the door opened; Eva looked up at him, tired and surprised. "Sir! Um…Can you tell me what happened?"

Don blinked. "What happened? What do you mean? You were nearly killed! The Arrow exploded!"

Eva rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "I know, but…I mean afterward…what happened? Where's Remus?"

Don felt a twinge at the thought that she wanted to see Remus right after waking up from nearly being killed…or was it the thought that maybe she expected Remus to stay by her side until she woke up? "Gerwulf set explosives into the reactor to make it explode. We don't know why. When Remus found out it was a deliberate attempt on your life, he…well…"

"Well, what?" Eva asked worriedly. "What did he do?"

"He…"

There was a huge bang. Don turned to look toward the pit.

"What was that?" Eva asked.

"Whatever it was it can't be good," Don muttered as there were several more booms. "Stay here," he added as he started toward the pit.

"What?" Eva exclaimed. "No way!" She raced toward the pit.

"Eva!" Don chased after her.

Eva entered the pit to see Duncan, Lily, Conner, Hemming and Lupe and Lupita straining to hold the door closed as something thrashed against it, snarling furiously, trying to force it open. Agrona, Andraste and Jordan stood a little ways behind, guns resting on their shoulders, ready to fire. Aikka had his dagger held tightly in his hand.

"You ready, Prince? I'm not gonna have to save you again, am I?" Jordan asked with a smirk.

"I only needed help because Remus caught me off guard," Aikka said. "That _won't_ happen again. I still can not believe that is Remus."

"I know," Jordan said grimly.

"Remus?" Eva asked as Don entered the pit. "What do you mean?"

Everyone looked up at her startled. It was all the distraction Remus needed. The door flew open, knocking the Lupanians back. A huge black wolf leapt over them, looking like something straight out of Hell. Jordan, Agrona and Andraste all fired their guns while the Lupanians picked themselves up; Eva noticed they were all in their Lupanian forms.

"What _is_ that thing?" Eva cried as the wolf ducked under the fire and swiped the gun out of Andraste's hands.

"That's Remus," Don said, grabbing her hand. He tried to pull her out of the pit, but she wouldn't move. "That's what he turned into after he found that Gerwulf tried to kill you. Now come, Eva, we have to _go._"

Eva wrenched her arm out of his grasp. "No! I'm not going anywhere! I'm going to help Remus!"

"Eva, you can't help him! That's not Remus anymore!" Don cried.

"He's still in there, I know it! He _has_ to be!" She ran down the stairs.

"Eva!" Don raced after her again.

Duncan had wrapped his arms around Remus' neck from behind, pulling him back. Remus strained against him, snapping his jaws at Andraste. Lily grabbed Remus legs pulling them out from under him. Duncan easily toppled Remus. The Lupanians jumped on top of him while Agrona knelt beside Andraste to see if she was okay.

The next second, Remus had thrashed his way through the pile of Lupanians to the top. He struggled, halfway free for a moment before squeezing out and leaping to the floor. He looked at Aikka…but then his eyes caught something standing behind Aikka.

Remus lunged. Aikka readied his dagger and rushed forward. He swiped at Remus. Remus jumped over Aikka's dagger and landed behind him. Eva's eyes widened. Remus was heading for Don.

"Dad!" Eva cried.

Don dodged. Remus flew into a pile of crates that had been stacked in the corner—it had been made even larger when all the extra crates around the pit had been put there to free up fighting room if necessary. The mountain of crates came crashing down.

"DAD!" Eva screamed.

Remus spun around and lunged at Don again; they both disappeared under the crates.

"DAD! REMUS!"

"REMUS!" Lily screamed. She ran forward, stopping in front of the fallen crates. "REMUS!"

Eva ran to stand beside her, looking around frantically for any sign that they were still alive under all the metal. The crates didn't even so much as twitch.

"Dad…Remus…" Eva whispered. Aikka and Jordan stood behind her, each placing a hand on one of her shoulders.

"They can't be dead!" Lily cried. "They can't be! You can't kill Remus that easily! The idiot doesn't do anything he's supposed to!"

Duncan sniffed the crates. It was hard to get a sent—the cold smell of steel just filled his nose instead. But there was something…

"They're farther in," Duncan said. "We need to get to them. It's possible they could still be alive."

"How?" Agrona asked. "No one can survive that. They must've been crushed!"

"If one of the crates had an open side it could've fallen on them and they could be trapped _inside_ the crate," Duncan said.

"If they were still alive, we'd know it," Agrona said. "We'd hear Remus ripping apart the old man."

Eva blanched.

"AGRONA!" Conner shouted. "Be silent, will you?"

Suddenly there was a banging from somewhere in the middle of the crates.

"What's that?" Agrona asked.

"One of them is still alive in there," Duncan said. "It sounds more like a knocking than thrashing which is what Remus would be doing… Don! Is that you?"

"Duncan?" came the faint reply.

"That's Don alright," Duncan said. Eva fell back against Jordan in relief. "Come on, we've got to get him out!"

The Lupanians, Aikka and Jordan climbed over the crates until they found the one Don was trapped in. Jordan and Aikka were about to move one of the crates when Duncan held up a hand. "Wait," he said.

"Why? What is it?" Jordan asked.

"He's not trapped in a crate," Duncan said. "He's trapped under them. It looks like a couple of them fell in a way that caused them to propped against each other with an open space. That's where he is. We have to be careful. If we dislodge one, the others will fall on top of him. We have to make sure that doesn't happen. Jordan, you go prop up that crate—Aikka, you go help him. Lily, Hemming, I need you to grab that one over there—yeah, that's the one—and Conner, Lupita and Lupe, get that one—good—wait, try and hold it a little more towards the bottom—yup, that's it Lupe—and I'll pull him out once you move that create, Jordan, Aikka. Everybody ready? Good. On the count of three, Jordan and Aikka are going to move that create and you all are going to hold yours to make sure they don't fall. Okay. One…two…three!"

Jordan and Aikka threw their bodies into the crate…struggled for a minute…then it toppled away to the side. Lily and Hemming strained to hold theirs but Conner, Lupita and Lupe were able to hold their without problem.

"Hurry up, Duncan," Lily said. "This one's not stable enough to hold for long!"

Duncan looked up and saw that it was being pushed down on by two other crates that were wobbling, but it didn't look like they'd fall until the crate Lily and Hemming were hold was dislodged. Duncan held out a hand. Don reached up and took it. Duncan pulled him up and out of harms way.

"Okay," Duncan said. "Once you let go, you need to move quickly. Especially you, Lily and Hemming."

Conner, Lupe and Lupita let go of their crate. It tumbled into the empty space that Don had been in a moment before. Lily and Hemming looked at each other.

"One…" Lily said, nodding.

"Two…" Hemming said, returning the nod.

"THREE!" they cried, jumping backwards. The three crates toppled over.

Lily sighed and Hemming wiped an arm across his forehead. "Well, that went well," Hemming said. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you," Don said.

"No problem," Hemming said. "Um…did you see what happened to Remus by any chance?"

"No, I'm sorry; I didn't," Don said.

Lily looked away.

The bang of breaking metal drew their attention further into the crate avalanche. Remus' head and neck were sticking up out of one of the crates. His eyes were wide and wide; his teeth were bared and snarling. He squeezed a front leg out of the crate. He growled at them.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Agrona cried.

Remus managed his other leg free and pulled himself up out of the hole onto the crate.

"Don, run!" Duncan said.

Don ran toward the crate-less part of the pit. The Lupanians formed a line, blocking Don from Remus.

"Lily, even though you're glad Remus is alive, I want you to fight with everything you've got, understand?" Duncan said.

Lily nodded. "Understood."

"Good."

Remus ran forward. He jumped to the right, left, the right again, and then right over their heads. Conner reached up and grabbed one of Remus' back legs. Remus crashed down onto the crates with a yelp. Conner and Hemming jumped on him. Remus flipped onto his back and bit down hard on Conner's hand while blocking Hemming with his front paw.

Conner screamed and tried to pull back; Remus only bit down harder. There was a sickening crack and Conner screamed again. This time Remus let go. He turned his attention to Hemming and clamped down on his leg before Hemming had time to realize Remus was free. Hemming's leg snapped like a twig. He crumpled to the ground.

Lily, Duncan, Lupe and Lupita leapt as one. Remus seemed to smirk. He rolled over, batting at one of the crates with a paw. It toppled, creating a gape that Remus slipped down into. Lily, Duncan and Lupe and Lupita stopped.

"What?" Duncan asked. "What'd he do that for? He's trapped!"

"No, he's not! Look!" Lily cried, pointing down into the gap Remus had fallen.

Remus was slinking away through a tunnel that had been created by the crates. Where it went or how long it went for was anybody's guess.

"He won't get far," Duncan said. "Those crates couldn't have fallen in a way to create a tunnel like that for long."

"But if he can nudge the crates without us noticing," Lily said, "he could get out."

"He can't," Duncan said firmly. "It's too likely that moving one will dislodge another. Not even Remus can pull this one off."

"I hope so…"

"Look! Over there!" Lupe cried. A crate had moved far off to the left.

"Come on, let's go!" Duncan said. They were half way there when another crate moved off to the right. "What? How's he doing that?"

"Duncan," Lily said worriedly, "what if those weren't Remus? What if they were only unstable crates?"

Duncan stared at her. "But that means that Remus could be anywhere right now!"

"Exactly."

Duncan looked at Eva. Don had just managed to get away from the crates with Jordan and Aikka right behind him, looking around for Remus. They were standing next to Eva, who was about to say something to her father.

A huge bang filled the pit. Remus crashed upward through one of the crates, hit the ground and ran toward Don. Jordan started firing his gun. Aikka leapt forward, and met Remus at the edge of the crates. He swiped at Remus, but Remus seemed to almost dance around his blade gracefully. Aikka couldn't get him, just like neither Jordan nor Agrona could get him with laser fire. The next second Remus roared in pain as a laser hit his back. He locked burning eyes on Agrona.

With a rage that paled in comparison to anything they had ever seen before, Remus knocked Aikka halfway across the room and then flung himself at Agrona. Remus knocked the gun out of her hands. It hit the floor and spun away. Jordan started to fire but Remus rounded on him and tore up the distance between them, biting the gun in half. Then he lunged up, hitting Jordan in the head with his own. Jordan fell back, hitting the wall, dazed and slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Jordan!" Eva cried.

Remus spun back around and made for Agrona again. Eva looked around frantically; Aikka was too far away and wouldn't be able to get to Agrona in time, Jordan was nearly unconscious and the crates were too unstable for any of the Lupanians to get there in time.

Andraste tried to get between Agrona and Remus; she was easily knocked out of the way. Eva grabbed pole on the ground and ran forward.

"Eva!" Don cried.

Eva swung the pole at the back of Remus' head. Remus turned around, catching it in his mouth and snapping it in half. He turned back to Agrona, ready to strike.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!" Remus looked toward the door, startled. Bardawulf lunged forward, striking Remus as hard as he could on the side of the head with his fist. Remus fell to his side and quickly got back to his feet. Bardawulf jumped on Remus, gripping his hands in his throat. "DON'T YOU **EVER** TOUCH HER!"

Remus squirmed. He clawed Bardawulf across the face. Bardawulf let go of Remus, crying out. Remus got to his feet and went after Agrona again. Bardawulf grabbed Remus, picked him up off the ground and flung him across the pit. Remus smashed into the opposite wall near Don. Eva ran forward to stand between her father and Remus. Remus got up and twisted around to snarl at Don and Eva.

"Eva," Don said, "get out of here!"

"I'm not moving," she said, glaring at Remus.

Remus glared right back her, snarling. The look on his face clearly said 'stand aside.'

"I'm not moving, _Remus_," Eva said. "I don't care whether or not you're under some Lupanian Curse. If you hurt the people I care about, I can't forgive you."

Remus' snarls lessened.

Eva knew she was onto something. "Isn't the Lupanian Curse supposed to be some sort of defense mechanism? You're trying to defend me, aren't you? From the people who've hurt me, right?"

Remus' body became less tense.

"Since when does defending me cause me pain?" Eva shouted. "Since when?"

Instantly, Remus' demeanor changed. All the tension left his body, he stopped snarling and his eyes stopped glowing, gaining pupils. He raised his head and whined.

Tentatively, Eva reached out a hand to Remus. He didn't move away. Instead, he just sat there, staring at her. Her hand fell back to her side.

Remus body rippled and then began to change. The fur disappeared back into skin and clothes; his ears moved down on his head and his head began to change back to normal. A minute later and Remus, completely human, sat there, staring up at her. He was covered in red and black blood. Both stained his teeth.

"Eva?" he asked, standing up. "What…" He rubbed his head. "I don't remember…I don't…" Remus swayed, his eyes closed and he fell to the ground.

"Remus!" Eva cried. She rushed forward, and knelt down beside him. "Remus?" She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. "Remus, wake up."

Duncan knelt down beside her. "He's fine, Eva. Just tired. This is all part of the Lupanian Curse. It leaves us exhausted. He's in a deep coma, somewhere between life and death, but he'll be fine."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure." Duncan picked Remus up and started up the stairs. "Can someone show me where his room is?"

"I'll do it," Stan said.

_Where did _he _come from? _Eva wondered before turning to Don. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Don said. "But what you did was incredibly foolish."

"I'm sorry," Eva said. "I just couldn't…" Eva looked away. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I…I didn't mean it… I don't hate you." She looked up at her father. "I don't hate you." She launched herself at him and hugged him tightly. "I don't hate you."

Don hugged her back. "I'm sorry too, Eva," he said. "I've put you through so much… I tried to do what I thought was best, and I…I just messed it all up. I'm so sorry."

"Blarg." They both looked at Agrona who was pulling something off her vest. "The sweetness… It sickens me."

Bardawulf walked up to her, transforming back into his human state. He knelt down beside her and asked seriously, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Agrona said.

Bardawulf glanced her over to make sure it was true before standing up and walking away. Agrona looked a bit surprised…and a little disappointed? "That all, Moon God?" she called after him. She sounded a little…irritated? Eva furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Hadn't Agrona _wanted_ Bardawulf to leave her alone?

Bardawulf stopped, looking at the ground, but didn't turn around. And after a moment, when it was clear that Agrona wasn't going to say anything further, he raised his head and continued up the stairs into the living quarters of the hanger.

Agrona growled and kicked her gun. "Ouch!" She grabbed her foot, growling furiously.

Andraste placed a hand on Agrona's shoulder. "Come on. We should get back to our pit."

"Yeah," Agrona muttered bitterly. She picked up her gun and stalked out of the hanger. Andraste looked torn between amusement and pity as she followed her companion.

"What was that about?" Lupita asked.

Lupe shrugged. "Got me."

"Funny way of showing your feelings, isn't it?" Lupita asked slyly.

"Why yes, my dear twin, it most certainly is," Lupe replied. Eva immediately knew they were planning something. She stepped back from her father.

"Guys, why don't you two just leave them alone, alright?" she said.

"Just like how Remus stayed out of your problems with your father?" Lupe asked. "I think we shall not!"

"Maybe Remus did get involved, but he was only trying to help," Eva said.

"So are we!" the two protested.

"You'll just end up making everything worse," Eva said, placing her hands on her hips. "Don't make me go get Duncan."

"Or better yet…" The twins went completely rigid as Lily, Conner and Hemming (both of whom had mostly healed) stood behind them. "Don't make _us_ do anything you might regret," Lily said.

"Wait, how does that work?" Lupita asked. "How would _we_ regret something _you_ did…? Oh. Right." Lupe and Lupita shared a glance before running out of the hanger.

"Faster, faster!" Lupe cried.

"First one to the room gets control of the boom box!" Lupita said.

"SLIPKNOT!" Lupe cried; a burst of speed created a huge gap between her and her twin.

"Oh no, you don't!" Lily shouted after them. She began to chase them. "You're NOT blasting that crap!"

Conner and Hemming looked at each other and shrugged going to find Duncan.

"You know," Don said absently, "your mother liked Slipknot too. I never understood it."

"Mom liked Slipknot?" Eva asked.

"Yes," Don said. "I asked her once why she liked it. The only thing she said was, 'I blame Jane and Emily.'"

"Who are Jane and Emily?"

"They were your mother's best friends. They were both a bit crazy," Don said.

"Crazy how?" Eva asked. She had always wanted to know things about Maya that didn't have to do with her racing career, but she had never had anyone to ask. And now she was going to jump on the opportunity.

"Remus crazy," Don said. "Although, Remus has a spark of seriousness and maturity in him. I never thought that Jane and Emily had that. Unless, of course, someone was bothering Maya. Although, that wasn't really so much seriousness and maturity as it was cunning, vengeance and bloodlust."

"Er…Okay… Mom wasn't…crazy was she?"

"Oh no, your mother was quite sane," Don said with a small smile. "Although, it was a miracle with the amount of time she spent with them. I always used to think that Maya was the one keeping them out of trouble, although…I often wondered about that…"

"Why?"

"Because your mother had a bit of a temper—"

"Was it as bad as yours?"

Don glared at Eva mildly.

"Right, sorry."

"Anyway, she had a bit of a temper and a stubborn streak a mile wide so I'll bet that she got into almost as much trouble as Jane and Emily did," Don said.

"Mom had a temper?" Eva asked surprised. "I don't remember that…"

"Well, she didn't often show it," Don said. "She just went with the flow most of the time. I think that's part of what made her such a great pilot. Because she didn't let things get to her and she didn't stress about racing. It kept her mind clear and focused. She only showed her temper around Veronica Rosedale."

"Who's that?" The name sounded familiar to Eva, but she just couldn't place it.

"She was Maya's most hated rival. They somehow ended up stuck together through most of their lives ever since they were kids. They went to school together and then ended up going to the same college. Maya always swore that Veronica did that on purpose. And then they wound up under the same couch."

"Couch?"

"Becoming a professional pilot takes a lot of skill and talent, but you also need to be given the proper training," Don said. "Part of what worries me about you flying is that you haven't had that kind of training. This is a dangerous sport even with it. Without it…"

"Please continued with your story, Dad," Eva said. She didn't want to get into that argument again even though she knew it had to happen eventually.

"Alright." Don knew it would be better to talk about it later. "Anyway, they were both very good pilots. I had just lost my pilot to another company when I went to their couch, Anthony, to find another pilot. That time of season was for signing new pilots and testing their skills in real races. Both Maya and Veronica were the best pilots out of the batch that Anthony was training that year and I couldn't decide between them. So, since it was what's called "trail season" in the racing world, I took them both on to see how they fared and to help me in my decision."

"I'm going to guess that was a mistake?" Eva asked.

"A huge one. Possibly one of the biggest of my life," Don said. "Veronica was always grating on Maya's nerves. She did it on purpose; for whatever reason she enjoyed seeing Maya get riled up to the point where it looked like there was going to be bloodshed—no joke. I almost took on Veronica as my pilot instead because she seemed so much more calm. Plus, Maya and I didn't exactly get along well at first. I had had a bad day and snapped at one of my mechanics—which turned out to be Emily—and almost made her cry." Don held up a hand to silence Eva. "Emily is sensitive. I hadn't known that. Of course, Maya made sure to make that very clear to me very quickly—after she dumped a bucket of green food dye, glue and feathers on my head."

Eva failed miserably at stifling her laugher. Don waited for her to stop before continuing.

"After that, I realized that 'we'd started off on the wrong foot' was an understatement and apologized to Emily for being so harsh and tried my best to make sure I didn't snap at her again. Managing a racer is as stressful as it is for the racer to be racing. It really is. It's my job to make sure a racer wins and so when they don't it reflects badly on me as well. After a little while we began to get along better and I started to realize that it was Veronica who made Maya so angry most of the time."

Don hesitated and Eva waited for a minute before saying, "Come on, there's more to it than that! I know there is! I wanna hear."

"Alright, alright." Don walked over and sat down on one of the fallen crates. Eva sat down next to him.

"It was somewhere in the first year I took her on that I fell in love with her," Don said.

"Isn't falling for your pilot a major taboo?" Eva asked.

"_You_ should just be lucky it happened," Don said. "You wouldn't exist otherwise, remember?"

"Oh…right."

"Exactly. Well, anyway, I finally got up the courage to ask her out somewhere around the start of the second year she was my pilot."

"Wait," Eva said, "what happened to Veronica?"

"She was still my pilot as well. Neither her nor Maya were big enough yet to be able to trade off to another company. Not that I would have traded Maya," Don said.

"But I thought that she was a success in only a few years?" Eva said.

"She was. But becoming good enough to able to do that takes some time. Your mother was just starting to climb up the ladder when she became pregnant with you and had to stop racing."

"So how did—?"

"Eva, do you want hear the rest or are you going to constantly ask questions?"

"Right. Sorry."

"So where was I? Oh, right, Veronica." Don sighed. "Well, it was after Maya and I started dating that I found out exactly why Maya hated Veronica so much. As it turns out, all throughout her life, anything that Maya had had Veronica had wanted. When Maya, who was a few months older than Veronica, had gotten her first car, Veronica had tried to steal it. When that hadn't worked, Veronica destroyed it with a baseball bat. Of course, it was never proven, but Maya, Emily, Jane and I—after I had gotten to know Veronica—know that that's exactly the sort of thing she'd do. This wanting what Maya had also extended to boyfriends. Veronica made it her mission in life to steal every single boyfriend Maya ever had from her. And it was made worse by the fact that Veronica was beautiful…every boy turned his head when she walked in."

"Did yours?" Eva asked suspiciously. She didn't like this Veronica one bit and was worried about how this story would go and she already knew that Don had chosen Maya!

"At first," Don said. "But that wasn't why I took her on. Her looks…" Don mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'and the fact she was a slut' to Eva "got her whatever and whoever she wanted through out her school life. But that doesn't work in the real world. …Not all the time. I think I might've been that harsh realization for her.

"After Maya and I started dating, Veronica tried to steal me from Maya as well. She was more beautiful than Maya, wasn't she? It should've been easy right? Unfortunately, for her, I prefer it when beauty isn't only skin deep. After we'd been together for a year, Maya began to be a lot calmer and her racing improved tremendously. Veronica didn't get to her as much anymore."

"Did Veronica stop trying to take you from Mom?"

Don sighed. "Sadly, no; it was very annoying really. And it really bothered Maya at first because Veronica had stolen every other boyfriend she'd ever had. But after a while, I think it stopped getting to Maya as much—she definitely didn't like it and mentioned that many a time—but she knew that she could trust me."

"Did you ever get rid of Veronica?" Eva asked.

"Yes, but not for a long while after that," Don said. "Maya and I were married for a year, during which she and Maya had started to progress at the same rate when Maya became pregnant with you as I've already said. And since she had to stop racing, I couldn't get rid of Veronica. So I kept her on for the next two years. Once Maya came back into racing, I thought she might need a year to get the hang of it again, but the year she came back was the year she won her first league title. That was also the year that Veronica got good enough to trade to another company. The next year was the year that Maya won her second league title, and then the next year, her third. The fourth year after she came back was when she entered the First International Championship and raced _Spirit_." Once again, Don spat Spirit's name. "And then, once Maya was…gone…Veronica moved up to be the best racing pilot until Rick came along."

_So that's why her name sounded so familiar. But…I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell him about Spirit…_ Eva thought. "Dad," she said, "there's…something you should know."

"Hm?"

"In my race with Spirit…after I crashed…I lost consciousness…but Spirit used his psychic powers to dig through my memories and find out why I was trying to kill him… He found my memory of Mom's race and that I thought he'd killed her." Eva took a deep breath. "But he didn't kill her. He showed me his memories. There was…there was a leak in the…in the fuel tank and the engine was sparking. He saw it and tried to help. That's why he flew closer. But Mom saw what he was trying to do and waved him away. I guess she didn't want him to get hurt too…and as he pulled ahead, the engine exploded…" Eva fell silent.

"It was an accident?" Don asked.

"Yes," Eva said quietly. "It's not Spirit's fault, it's not your fault, it's…it's not anybody's…"

"And she waved him away?"

"Yes."

Don was silent for a moment before saying, "That sounds exactly like something she'd do." He stood up. "Was there anything else you wanted to know about your mother and her rival before we go check on Remus?"

Eva looked up at him in disbelief. She had been sure that he would've forbidden her from having anything to do with Remus after Remus had tried to kill them. She smiled.

"No," Eva said. "That's all for now." She stood up and started up the stairs with her father close behind.

_**Chapter preview: Kingdom of the Dead **– "Remus, wake up," a voice said softly. "Wake up, sweetie." _

_Remus groaned and tried to turn away from the person, but they gripped his shoulder gently. _

"_Remus, open your eyes," the voice said again. "Please?" _

_Remus rolled back over onto his back and forced his eyes open. A woman with black hair and ice blue eyes entered his vision. His eyes snapped wide open. "Mom?" _

Okay, I hope you all liked this chapter and that the thing on Maya's life didn't seem to random. I just thought that Eva would want to know a lot about her mother and Don's observation just seemed to be asking for Eva to want to know everything there is to know about her mother. So, yeah…

Once again, if there are any spelling errors or anything like that or inconsistences (THESE ESPECIALLY!) please let me know!

Okay! REVIEW MY ZOMBIE SLAVES!


	21. The Kingdom of the Dead

**Disclaimer:** I don't Oban Star-racers. I do own my Lupanians and Jubalins.

Sorry if this chapter seems a little rushed. I'm trying to upload it before my parents yell at me to get to bed.

Moon and Star

Ch.21: Kingdom of the Dead

Lily watched Remus sleeping soundly…so soundly in fact that he wasn't moving a muscle…not even a twitch. Lily stroked his hair. She, Lupe, Lupita, Conner and Hemming had come back from the Lupanian hanger (more like Lily had dragged the twins back by their ears while Conner and Hemming had tried to convince her to let go.) "He _is_ going to be alright, isn't he?" She looked at Duncan. "You weren't just making that up, right?"

"No, of course not," Duncan said. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. But, like I said, he'll be hovering between life and death for a while."

"He's hovering between life and death, but he'll be fine?" Lily asked angrily. "Where do you come up with stuff?"

"I'm just repeating what my father…and Alpha Cheveyo…have told me," Duncan said.

"That sounds more like something Chumana would discuss," Lily said suspiciously.

"Okay, so I had a conversation with Chumana," Duncan said. "What's the big deal?"

"The big deal? The big deal is that she's a psychopathic, homicidal maniac!" Lily said. "That's what!"

"Who is Chumana?" Aikka asked.

"Just one of the Lupanians at Yellowstone," Duncan said. "That's all. She's bit…crazy."

"Blood thirst, more like it," Lily muttered.

"Chumana's awesome!" Lupe and Lupita exclaimed.

Lily clenched her jaw and her eyes widened in anger.

"Oh no," Duncan muttered.

"Do you mean to tell me," Lily said slowly with obvious rage, "that you've been hanging out with her?"

"Well," Lupe said hesitantly, "not willingly…"

"For her, anyway," Lupita said.

"Once I tell your parents…" Lily said threateningly, "…you're both dead…if there's anything left of you for them to kill."

Lupe and Lupita glanced at each other…then ran out of the room like a bat out hell. Lily hesitated a moment; she tore after them.

**-.oOOo.-**

"Remus, wake up," a voice said softly. "Wake up, sweetie."

Remus groaned and tried to turn away from the person, but they gripped his shoulder gently.

"Remus, open your eyes," the voice said again. "Please?"

Remus rolled back over onto his back and forced his eyes open. A woman with black hair and ice blue eyes entered his vision. His eyes snapped wide open. "Mom?" He sat up quickly.

Remus mother smiled fondly and placed a hand on his cheek. "It's me. How are you feeling?"

"Well, at the moment…am I dead?"

"No," she said.

"Oh…well, then I'm fine," Remus said. "Thanks for asking. And you?"

"Well, I'm happy that I'm finally getting to speak to you," she said.

Remus' eyes dropped for a moment. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs. "Mom…" He wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. He buried his face in her shoulder. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Remus," she said, rubbing his back soothingly. "I missed you too. And so has your father."

"Where _is_, Dad?" Remus asked.

"Around here somewhere. He'll be here soon," she said.

"CHOSOVI!"

"Hm?" Remus looked up from his mother's shoulder.

His mother sighed and pulled away. "That would be your father," she said. Remus looked around and finally noticed they were in the middle of the woods with a creek nearby.

A red-haired, green-eyed man came into view. "Chosovi, I've been looking for—" He stopped short when he saw Remus looking at him. "Remus?"

"Dad?"

His father rushed forward and dropped to his knees in front of Remus. He laid a hand on Remus' shoulder and used his other to brush Remus' hair out of his eyes. "What happened to you? Why are you here? You need to go back now!"

"Lapu, relax," his mother, Chosovi, said. "He's fine. He's not dead or dieing."

"Then what's he doing here?" his father, Lapu, demanded as Maya Wei knelt down next to him, also looking at Remus questioningly.

Remus quickly explained about the Lupanian Curse (while conveniently forgetting a few key details such as killing Gerwulf and Toros and attempting to kill everyone else).

"So, Remus, I have one question," Lapu said.

"What's that?" Remus asked.

"Do you love Eva?"

Remus nearly screamed. "NO!" he shouted to the sky, pulling at his hair. "No! Why does _everyone_ think that?"

Lapu laughed and pulled his surprised son into a hug. "Don't worry! I'm only joking with you! I understand; my friends used to be as close as my family as well."

"Finally!" Remus sighed. "_Someone_ gets it."

Chosovi laid a hand on Remus shoulder as her son hugged his father and sighed.

Remus pulled back a moment later. "It's so good to see you, you know."

"And it's good to see you too, Remus," Chosovi said. "We've been watching you." Remus' blood froze. "We're very proud of you."

"But…but I killed—! And I tried to kill—! And before I even met Eva and Don Wei, I—! And I've gotten drunk several times and I put my boss's hamster in the microwave and I—!"

"Remus, Remus, calm down," Chosovi said. "Relax. You had your reason, and, I'll admit, I'd rather you hadn't taken your friends problems with your boss out on his hamster—"

"I didn't want to do it either, but that seemed to be the only thing he cared about! And I didn't actually kill it…I knew enough to only put it in for thirty seconds or so…" Remus trailed off.

"It doesn't matter," Chosovi said. A funny feeling came over Remus, and her eyes widened. Remus looked down at himself; he was fazing in and out of existence. He cried out in shock. "Remus, relax. You're just going back to your body and the world of the living. Just close your eyes, Remus."

Remus did as he was told. Instantly, he slipped away into sleep.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva and Don entered the room just as Remus moaned and his eyes flickered open. Remus hissed and draped an arm over his eyes.

"Remus?" Eva asked softly.

"Wha…?" Remus replied.

"Are you okay?"

"I hurt like hell. That answer your question?" He removed the arm from his eyes and looked at her and Don. "You too made up yet?"

"Yes, Remus," Eva said with a small smile. "Everything's good now."

"That's good." He promptly passed out again.

**-.oOOo.-**

The Earth and Lupanian teams (minus Eva and Don) sat in the kitchen, drinking hot chocolate (Conner's treat).

"So…what was it like when Remus jumped on you like that?" Jordan asked Aikka.

"I saw my life flash before my eyes," Aikka said. "I thought I was going to die."

"Did you see your first kiss?" Jordan asked.

Aikka took a sip of his chocolate and didn't answer. Jordan grinned slyly. "You _have_ been kissed, haven't you?" Again Aikka didn't answer. Jordan laughed loudly. "You haven't been kissed? Oh, that's rich!"

"Yes, well, you were a knight in shining armor today, although _your_ princess was a prince, but you don't see _us_ saying anything about it," Stan said, grinning.

Jordan glared at Stan and Koji as they started chuckling.

**-.oOOo.-**

Images were flashing through his mind, blurry and distorted like a picture taken off a moving object. A dark alley…Gerwulf on the ground…Aikka at the cliff side…Aikka falling…breaking into the hanger…the crates falling down on top of him…

Remus' eyes snapped open and he found himself in the forest again. Only this time he was somewhere different; the creek wasn't anywhere to be seen. His parents and Maya Wei weren't anywhere around either. He stood up and started walking. He had to find them before he disappeared again.

After about ten minutes, he found his way to a large clearing—a field—in the middle of the forest with a large pond. His father was at the waters edge while Maya Wei and his mother were swimming. He stopped and watched his mother disappear under the water for a minute; she popped up behind Maya and dunked her before she'd even known that Chosovi was there. His father laughed.

For a moment, it struck Remus as odd that his mother and Eva's were wearing their clothes while swimming, but then he remembered that this was the Kingdom of the Dead. They were dead so why not go swimming in their clothes?

Remus finally got his legs and brain to start working again; the scene had been just a little _too_ normal to believe that this was the Kingdom of the Dead. He started running toward them. "Mom! Dad!"

All three turned to look at him. Maya and Chosovi quickly swam the short distance to shore. Chosovi and Lapu started toward Remus.

"Remus, what's wrong?" Chosovi asked.

Remus flung himself at her and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Mom," he said. "I didn't get to say it before and then I woke up in the living world and I…" Lapu placed a hand on his shoulder. Remus let go of his mother and quickly hugged his father, fighting back tears. "I love you too, Dad. I've missed you both so much…"

No one spoke for a minute. Then Maya said, "Remus…does Eva know that you can talk to spirits?"

Remus stepped back from his parents and turned to face Maya Wei. "No," he said.

"And is her wish really to bring me back to life?" Maya looked worried. Remus furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yeah," he said. "Why?"

Maya looked alarmed; she and Remus' parents shared a glance. "Remus," Maya said urgently, "promise me—first that you'll tell Eva about your "Star gazing" abilities—but more importantly, promise me that you'll tell her that the Ultimate Prize isn't what she thinks it is."

"What? It's not?" Remus was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"The Ultimate Prize is really to become the next Avatar for the next ten thousand years," Maya said quickly. "Satis is the winner of the previous great race of Oban. Trust me, please, tell Eva that if she wins she'll be forced to be Avatar for the next ten thousand years."

Remus head was spinning and his stomach seemed twisted into knots. "Don't worry; I'll tell her. I promise."

Maya sighed in relief. "Thank you, Remus. And will you tell her and Don that I still love them?"

"Sure thing," Remus said, giving her a thumbs up. Then his body began to fade in and out of existence again. "Mom, Dad, I love you."

"We love you too," they said.

Remus closed his eyes and disappeared.

**-.oOOo.-**

When Remus opened his eyes again, Eva was sitting next to his bed eating spaghetti. His stomach growled as he sat up. "Where'd you get that? And more importantly, did you get me a plate?" He felt better; his body didn't hurt and he wasn't tired anymore. He couldn't tell how long he'd slept though.

Eva laughed. "Don't worry, there's plenty for you. I'll go get you plate." She set hers down on the small desk next to Remus' bed. "Don't touch that or I'll dump your spaghetti all over you, got it?"

"Got it."

Eva left the room and was back in a minute. She gave him his plate. "Thanks." He started to eat. They were both silent for a minute. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Since yesterday night. It just became noon, by the way," Eva said.

"Hm." Remus was silent for a moment, eating another bite of food. "So…you and your dad made up?"

"Yeah," Eva said brightly. "And as soon as I win the Ultimate Prize and bring my mom back, our family will be complete again."

For some reason that statement filled him with alarm and a vague memory of Maya Wei speaking to him urgently came to mind, but he didn't know where the memory came from; he racked his brain, but for the life of him couldn't come up with an answer…he felt as though he'd forgotten something important.

_**Chapter preview: Memories **– Remus sat on his bed, staring out the window silently. He was surprised that Eva was still friends with him after everything that had just happened…she was a true friend. And now he felt he owed her._

She's wanted to know about my past, _Remus thought._ No better time than now to take a leap of faith and spill my guts, right?

_Remus sighed and stood up. He left the room in search of Eva._

Sorry this chapter is so short; once again please tell me if there are any mistakes or inconsistencies.


	22. Memories

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Oban Star-racers. I still own my Lupanians and Jubalins.

Moon and Star

Ch.22: Memories

Remus sat on his bed, staring out the window silently. He was surprised that Eva was still friends with him after everything that had just happened…she was a true friend. And now he felt he owed her.

_She's wanted to know about my past,_ Remus thought. _No better time than now to take a leap of faith and spill my guts, right? _

Remus sighed and stood up. He left the room in search of Eva.

He found her and everyone else in the sitting area of the hanger, the same place where Don had told them (what seemed like so long ago) that Rick would be out for at least a week and someone needed to replace him. It seemed ironic now that they had been talking about a week instead of forever.

Everyone looked up and fell silent when he walked in.

Remus stopped and stared. His eyes scanned the group until they found Eva sitting next to Jordan on a table; there was an empty chair next to her. He briefly thought about asking her why she was sitting on the coffee table instead of the chair. Then he realized that it didn't matter why and that he was falling back into his habit of making up excuses. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, he strode forward and sat down in the chair.

"Eva…" Remus didn't know where to begin.

"Yes?" she asked.

He swallowed. "You've asked before about my parents and how they died…and what happened to me after that…" He paused and thought for a moment. "Do you really want to know?"

Eva opened her mouth…then closed it. After a minute she finally said, "Only if you want to tell me."

Remus took a deep breath and tried to ignore everyone else. They weren't here; it was just him and Eva like always. This was just another one of their talks on the roof.

Remus looked at the ground as he spoke, imagining it to be the night sky.

"When I was seven, my parents decided to take me out on my first hunt. We lived near the woods and were pretty much in the middle of nowhere and everyone in town was nice and open about us being Lupanians…or at least we thought they were. I found out later that one of them wasn't, but…we went out and were…were hunting a deer when…when the Hunters showed up."

Remus closed his eyes tightly as sights and sounds filled his mind. He took several deep breaths to calm himself before continuing.

"My dad grabbed me and tossed me to my mom…she caught me in her arms, and my dad shouted at her to take me and go…he was going to hold them off…" Tears stung Remus' eyes. "So…so she ran; it wasn't long before we heard gun shots and…and my dad…scream…there were…there were a couple more shots and then…nothing. My mom kept running; I don't know how long. At least a mile. Then she found a tree with a hole in the base. It was a big tree; I remember…the hole in it was big enough for me to hide in. We could hear the Hunters' coming closer…they were riding dirt bikes so the engines were easy to hear. She told me not to come out until she came back or I heard her howl. She had a really strange look in her eyes as she left…it took me forever to realize what it was…but…she knew she wasn't coming back…"

Remus drew a shuddering breath and let it out shakily.

No one said anything.

"Ten minutes later…I heard gun shoots…" A lump formed in Remus' throat; it hurt so badly… "I wait and wait for her to come back…but she didn't…I finally left the tree at…I don't know…I think it was around noon the next day…she hadn't come back…so I made my way to the town nearby…everyone knew by then what had happened…the Hunters had killed my parents." Remus voice broke. He was silent for a moment, trying to compose himself. Then he continued, "I was going to stay with one of my parents friends until we could contact my Aunt and Uncle…Lily's parents…but someone came into their shop and I _knew_…I just _knew_ he had been the one to contact the Hunters…so I ran…I just ran and ran and I didn't stop running until I collapsed… I managed to find a patch of bushes with a clearing in their branches big enough for me to curl up in… That's where I stayed the night.

"I was so hungry…it was several miles to the nearest town or city…and the man had called the Hunters again so…so I constantly had to hide from them…it was horrible…I lived off mice and a…a rabbit once, but it was _so_ hard to catch them…it used up more energy to catch them then I could ever hope to get from eating them…so…so I made my way to the city. It was there I met Gregory…the old Lupanian who took me in…"

_Remus stumbled through the alleys, tired, dirty and jumpy. He wanted to go get help, but he no longer knew who to trust…that man…that monster…Remus' parents had trusted him, and he had betrayed them! Remus snarled viciously and slammed his fist into the brick wall beside him. It stung and he hissed in pain, then growled in anger. _

_A movement caught his eye. Looking down, he saw a rat poking around a nearby trashcan. There was a door next the trashcan; Remus eyed it wearily. What if someone came out? Finally his hunger won out, and he crept closer. The rat looked up, squeaking; Remus froze. The rat turned and scurried away. Remus lunged and hit the ground; the rat had slipped out of his fingers. So close…_

_The door opened. Remus jumped backward, scrambling to his feet, hissing. His eyes glowed emerald. _

_A man who looked like he might be in his early fifties stepped out of the door and glared down at him. "Hey, kid, what the heck do you think you're doing? Get lost! Go back to where you came from." _

_Remus took a step backward, a low, rumbling growl in his throat. His Lupanian—his wolfish—instincts were taking over. _

_The man paused, looking surprised. "Hey, pup, what're you doing out here? Shouldn't you be with your parents." _

"_Can't…" Remus rasped. He voice sounded odd to his own ears…it had been days since he'd used it. "Dead… Days ago… Hunters."_

_The man's face softened. "Don't you have somewhere to go?" _

"_No." _Not anymore…_ Remus thought. _I'm all alone.

_The man sighed. "Alright…get in here, kid." He stepped back into the building and held the door open for Remus to enter. _

_Remus took a step backward. _

_The man rushed forward, grabbed Remus and pulled him into the building. Remus snarled and bit down on the man's arm as hard as he could. Blood gushed from the wound. The man calmly pulled Remus off him and dropped him to the ground. _

_Remus hit the ground and sat on the floor, surprised, confused, scared, hungry and tired, looking around the dimly lit room. Who was this man? Where was he? Did he have food? Should he dare take food from this stranger even if he did have it? And what was this odd scent? This thing telling him the man was a friend?_

"_Pup," the man said loudly, breaking Remus out of his thoughts. "My name's Gregory. You'll be staying here with me. But you'll have to earn your keep, you understand? You don't get a free ride. Understood?"_

_Remus didn't answer him. _

"_I said, _do—you—understand?_" the man…Gregory…asked annoyed. _

_Remus nodded. _

"_Good." Gregory turned back to the sink where he was washing away the blood from his arm. Remus' eyes widened as he saw Gregory's skin ripple and patch itself back together. Gregory looked at Remus and smirked. "Surprised, Pup? I suppose you didn't notice the scent? You're one pathetic Lupanian." _

_Remus snarled. "I'm not pathetic!" he shouted. Immediately he started coughing. Speaking irritated his throat. _

"_What's your name and age?" _

"_Remus…I'm seven…"_

"_I see." Gregory threw out the towel he had used to wash his arm. "Gregory. One hundred and six four."_

_Remus stared up at him. "You're _old_."_

"_That I am. But don't go around telling people my age, Pup. People'll figure out I'm a Lupanian. I don't want that. I just want to live in peace, got it? Can't have that if people know you're a Lupanian. Plus, there's Hunters in this place."_

_Remus jumped to his feet. "Hunters? You live around Hunters?" _

"They _live around _me, _Pup," Gregory said firmly. "_I_ was here first. This is _my_ place and they won't take it from me."_

"He told me that the Hunter's would know my face so we had to change it… I dyed my hair red like my father's…and got ice blue contacts the same color as my mother's eyes. I got better clothes and was enrolled in the local school under an alias. Gregory knew the principal there so he told her my…predicament…and she helped look after me. She took me under her wing and kept me away from the Hunter children and pointed me in the direction of Lupanian sympathizers; I had a whole network set up to help me. I was fine for several years…

"But one day, I got caught. One of the children had figured out what I was…I'm not sure how…"

_Remus was trapped in a dead end alley, staring down the barrel of a gun. The Hunter stared at him with cold, unfeeling eyes while his child looked around him at Remus._

"_Do you see this, son?" the Hunter asked. "This is a monster. This is what hides under your bed at night, in your closet…only _this_ is real. _This _can harm you. And it will. It's kill or be killed, understand? If you don't get it, it'll get you."_

"_Dad…he doesn't…_look_ like a monster," the boy said. _

"_He doesn't now, but this is just a disguise." The gun clicked, and Remus began to shiver violently. There was nowhere for him to go. _

_Suddenly a roar filled the alley. Gregory, in his Lupanian form, ripped the gun from the Hunter's hands, broke it in half and threw the pieces to the ground. The Hunter Child scrambled away, screaming. Gregory grabbed the Hunter, picked him up and slammed him into the wall, furiously. _

"_Gregory, wait!" Remus cried. "Don't!"_

_Gregory paused, hearing the Hunter Child whimper. He looked at the child who was pushing himself against the opposite alley wall, trembling. Then Gregory dropped the Hunter, grabbed Remus and ran._

"I laid low for a bit before we found out that when the Hunter had hit his head, he had lost his memory of my name and what I looked like. And his kid didn't say anything to him again… Now, there's a thing called luck and there's a thing called the grace of God. _That_ was the grace of God.

"It was a few months later, the Gregory's old age finally caught up to him. He developed Alzheimer's and was sent to live in a nursing home. And the whole city was crawling with Hunters. It was too dangerous for me to stay there any longer. The principal gave me some food and clothes and told me that I needed to get to Yellowstone. She drove me out of the city to the home of a very nice elderly couple. They explained that to get me to Yellowstone safely, it was too dangerous for one person to travel with me now that the Hunters were after me. They told me that a sort of…Underground Railroad had been established for wanted Lupanians to get to Yellowstone safely. I was going to have to travel that way.

"I found out how dangerous it was that night. I was going to leave and they told me how to get to the next checkmark. I had already started to leave…there was a forest nearby…when I saw a jeep pull up…the men had machine guns. I couldn't hear what they were saying—I was too far away—but the couple obviously didn't tell them where I was, because when they left, they set the house on fire. They never do anything to those who help them. It's a rule.

"I wasn't on the Underground Railroad for long before the house I was headed to was burned before I even got there. It's too dangerous to give directions to more than one house at a time. My path was gone. I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. I got a job as a mechanic and made two friends who worked there as well. Unfortunately…the boss wasn't a very nice guy…and it wasn't long before he hurt one of my friends—emotionally, of course. He'd gone too far so I put his hamster in the microwave…but I didn't put it in any actual danger. See, the microwave was never turned on. But I got fired, I let my temper get the better of me and was exposed as a Lupanian thus losing my two friends and was forced to run again."

_Remus growled at his boys, his eyes glowing emerald, his teeth sharpening to fangs and his nails turning to claws. He heard Jason and Maddie gasp. He looked up and saw the fear in their eyes. He knew then that their friendship was over._

"That was shortly before I met you and your father. And…I saw your mother's grave. I spent the night there once."

_Remus staggered through the cemetery; it was far too cheerful to be a place of death in his opinion. The bushes, trees and flowers were everywhere and thriving. He finally collapsed to the ground and slumped against a headstone. He glanced at it, seeing a picture of a laughing pink-haired woman. He stared at it for a moment, noticing the crescent moon and line on her cheeks. _

_Then he closed his eyes for a moment and drifted off to sleep. He awoke to the sound of a twig snapping. Glancing around and sniffing the air revealed that it was nothing more than a rabbit. He started to fall back to sleep…semi-transparent purple boots entered his vision as he lay on the ground…he looked up, eyes falling closed to see the woman in the photograph standing over him, looking down at him…_

"When I woke up that morning, I tried to keep going, but…I only made it to the road before I collapsed completely. I was so tired of running from the Hunters that I just didn't care anymore…"

_Remus stumbled toward the road; he just had to make it across the road…just a little farther, he thought to himself. That was how he had made it this far—just a little bit at a time. But halfway across the road, he just couldn't do it anymore. He started to collapse, his world going black. His last conscious thought was, _Well…if I'm lucky, somebody'll run me over…

Remus was silent; the room was deathly quiet. Finally, Remus looked up from the floor at Eva, his bangs falling out of his eyes. "I just thought you should know," he said quietly. "You trusted me completely even after… I just thought I should give you the same courtesy. You have my complete and total trust. …All of you."

Remus stood up and left the room quickly, bowing his head.

Eva jumped up and ran to the doorway. "Remus! Wait up!"

"Eva, maybe Remus needs some time alone—" Duncan reached out to grab her shoulder; Eva ran out of the room just as his fingers brushed her shirt. Duncan sighed. "But then again…I wouldn't really want to be alone either."

Duncan turned around and looked at the people in the room. Most had their eyes glued to the floor with a serious expression on their face. Don Wei was staring at the doorway looking torn about something, Lupe and Lupita were looking at each other and Lily was quickly wiping away tears on her face.

Duncan walked over to her and gave her a hug. Lily leaned into it gratefully.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus didn't speak to Eva until they were sitting on the roof, staring at the late afternoon sky.

"Remus…" Eva said quietly. "I…" What did she say? Thank you for telling me what a completely and total living hell your life has been for the past seven years? I'm sorry? Nothing seemed adequate enough.

"You don't have to say anything…if you don't want…" Remus said.

Eva was silent for a moment. "…Did you drink before…? I mean…back on Earth?"

"…Yes…once. At the same time was contemplating suicide."

Eva opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again…closed it again. What did you say to that?

Remus smiled slightly. "Once again…you don't have to say anything."

"Okay…" Instead, she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him against her side. He rested his head against her shoulder gratefully and closed his eyes.

_**Chapter preview: Training **–_ _Eva watched Jordan and Agrona arguing loudly. She glanced at Bardawulf; he was looking at Agrona fondly. Then he seemed to realize something and looked away. Just as she was about to ask him what was going on, Andraste appeared at Eva's side. _

"_Come on. We need to brush up those piloting skills of yours," she said. "You're a good pilot, but we need to make you a great one before you get to Oban."_

"_Alright," Eva said. "Where do we start?"_


	23. Training

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Oban Star-racers. I do own Lupanians and Jubalins and

all my OCs.

Moon and Star

Ch. 23: Training

That night Remus sat alone on top of the hanger. It was well past the time that everyone else had gone to bed, but he just couldn't bring himself to sleep. He knew he should since Eva was going to start training tomorrow (and he was positive that she would need his full and not sleep deprived support if Duncan and (more importantly) Andraste and Agrona were to be her task masters). Also, today had been emotionally tolling on him. Telling his past had been something he'd had to force himself to do, but he would admit that he did feel better now. It was sort of as if a crushing weight had been lifted making it easier to breathe, to think, to move… He felt oddly…free.

And on the plus side, these few days on Alwas and Oban would be the few truly worry free nights he would have in his life. The Hunters were light-years away; he'd best take the chance to catch up on years of lost sleep while he could.

Yawning and stretching his arms to the sky, Remus stood. He climbed back through the window to his room, closed it, kicked off his shoes and fell onto his bed, exhausted. Within minutes, he was asleep.

**-.oOOo.-**

Alwas had been enveloped in a heavy mist; in fact, Eva was only sure that this was Alwas and not some planet made entire of mist because she could see the very vague shapes of the hangers. She had walked right into the side of one before she had been able to properly see it. She crossed her arms as she walked slowly, trying to figure out where she was. Shivers running up her spine made her stop walking and look around; her heart was pounding.

A flash of green caught her eyes; she spun around, but it was gone.

Trembling, Eva continued on. She walked slowly, trying not to make a sound. A low rumbling growl made her head snap to the right; a big bulky black shape was shrouded in the mist while its glowing emerald eyes cut through the fog like a knife. She stood there staring at it for a moment; then only a sliver of one eye was visible and in a blink it was gone.

Eva ran. Her feet pounded on the ground, her gasps for breath signaling to the silent world exactly where she was.

BAM!

Eva cried out as she fell backward. She had just run right into the side of a hanger.

"E! Are you alright?"

Eva looked up to see Remus hurry toward her as though he could see her easily through the fog; and the strange thing was, she could see him clearly too…she could barely see the side of the hanger she had just run into that wasn't even a foot from her face, but she could see him running towards her.

Remus knelt beside her, grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. "Are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Remus!" Eva whispered urgently, grabbing his shirt. "There's something out there!" She looked around fearfully. She wasn't sure if she was just afraid of the unknown or it if was the growl or the eerie eyes or the sense of foreboding familiarity or a combination of the four that was making her so afraid. All she knew that was that something wasn't right and whatever that thing was, it was dangerous.

"What's out there, Eva? I don't see anything," Remus said, glancing around.

"Well…well, I don't know exactly," Eva said. "It's just…it's just something big and black with glowing eyes…whatever it is, it's dangerous, Remus."

Remus just smiled. Eva felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, an explosion of nervousness and anger and growing panic.

"Remus!" she hissed. "We need to get out of here! That thing'll kill us!" It was crucial that Remus understand this.

But to Eva's horror, Remus just continued to smile and shook his head saying,

"Eva, Eva, Eva…There's nothing out there that's going to hurt you."

Suddenly, anger overrode everything else that Eva was feeling. She didn't understand why didn't believe her now, why he wasn't taking her seriously, when he always had before, but at that moment there was something out to get them and she was going to make Remus understand this even if she had to bash his head against the hanger wall a couple of times first.

"Remus, you jerk! I'm not lying, there's seriously something out there—"

"Look," Remus said firmly, gripping her wrists so tightly that it hurt, forcing her to let go of his shirt. Once she had, his grip softened and he pulled her hands away from him. "I said there was nothing out there that was going to hurt you. I never said there was nothing out there. I believe you."

"How do you know that that thing isn't going to hurt us?" Eva demanded.

"Because—"

"Eva! There you are! Where have you been?"

Remus looked over Eva's shoulder while Eva craned her neck around to see her father walking towards them out of the fog. A rumbling growl made Eva look back around. Remus' eyes were glowing. He threw Eva to the ground, leaping over her as he transformed into a monstrous black wolf with glowing emerald green eyes and drool that dripped from its fangs.

Eva screamed as the wolf leapt on her father, pinning him to the ground and struck at his throat, ripping it open. Her eyes overflowed with tears, blurring her vision for a moment so that when it cleared, the wolf had turned its head to look at her, a strip of flesh draped across its mouth, hanging out both sides, dripping blood.

"What's wrong, E? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Eva bolted awake with a scream.

**-.oOOo.-**

Koji, who had stayed up late to finish checking the systems of the Arrow 3 (he, Stan, Eva, Jordan, Aikka, the whole Lupanian team as well as the two Jubalians (who had supposedly added a few harmless upgrades although no one knew what they were yet) had labored together to repair it the day the Remus had been unconscious as a way of keeping themselves from worrying, especially for Lily and Eva) heard a muffled scream that was quickly silenced. Worried, he abandoned his work and ended to the sleeping quarters.

He quickly discovered he wasn't the only one awake anymore. He nearly ran into Don who had hurried out of the elevator, completely dressed. (Koji wondered what he had been doing still awake.)

"Did you hear that?" Don asked sharply.

"Yes, sir, I did," Koji said. "It sounded like it came from someone's room. I couldn't tell whose though, sir. Sorry."

Don frowned worriedly before hurrying off to see the others. Stan and Jordan had just come out of their rooms, after having clearly just thrown on a shirt and jeans.

"Who was that?" Jordan asked.

"It sounded like it came from Mol—Eva's room," Stan said. "Come on!"

Before Stan had even taken a step, Remus' door opened and Remus came flying out, nearly hitting Stan and crashing into the wall. He pushed himself away from it and sprinted to Eva's door (which wasn't that far), ripped the door open and ran inside.

"E, what's wrong?" Remus asked.

Eva was staring at the wall ahead of her, breathing heavily, eyes wide and drenched in sweat.

"Eva!" Remus shouted.

Eva jumped when she saw him. She gave a strangled scream.

"Eva…?" Remus stared at her; her eyes were filled with fear.

Don pushed past Remus roughly. "Eva, are you alright?" he asked, sitting next to her on the bed.

The fear instantly left her eyes. "Yeah…yeah, I'm fine," she said shakily. "I just had a bad dream. That's all."

Don gently rubbed her back. "Are you sure you're fine? You screamed bloody murder."

"Yeah, I'm sure I'm fine," Eva said.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Don asked gently.

"Yes, I'm sure," Eva insisted. She lay back down and rolled over so her back was facing everyone. "Can I just go back to sleep?"

Don seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before finally saying, "Alright." He stood up. Placing his hands on his hips, he glared at Remus, Jordan, Stan and Koji. "Well? What are you still doing here?"

Everyone immediately fled. Remus hesitated before doing so, but left the room right behind them. They stood in the hallway for a moment just looking at each other.

"So…what do you guys think happened? Did she really have a dream?" Stan asked.

"I think so," Koji said. "Everyone has bad dreams."

"I don't know about you, but I've never had a dream that's made me scream like that," Stan said.

"I have," Remus said quietly.

"Oh…" Stan said. "I…I'd forgotten. Sorry."

"They're very realistic, those dreams. Or at least…they can be."

Koji was starting to feel uncomfortable. "Well…I think we'd best get to bed. I've still got some checks to finish running, but it's very late. We're going to have a long day tomorrow with the Jubalins training Eva."

"What?" Stan demanded. "The Jubalins are training Eva? Since when did that happen?"

"Since they volunteered today." Koji checked his watch. "Make that yesterday."

Stan grumbled something that sounded like, "No way are they getting near _my_ baby," as he stalked back into his room.

"Hey, Koji," Jordan asked. "What would Stan do if the Jubalins wrecked the Arrow?"

Koji gave him a look that clearly said 'do you really want to know?'

"Er…you know, you're right," Jordan said. "It's getting late. I'm just…gonna go back to bed. Yeah…that."

Koji shook his head as he started back to the control room.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don sighed. He turned back to Eva. "You know, your mother never wanted to share her bad dreams, either. But if you talked about it, you might feel better. She always did."

Eva glanced at him over her shoulder. "I'm fine." She turned away again.

Don sighed once more. "Alright, then. Well…goodnight." He turned and left the room. Before he closed the door, though, he added, "I love you." Then the door slid shut.

Eva lifted her head and stared at the door.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus gazed up at the Arrow 3, completely rebuilt and gleaming in the sun. "Wow," he said. "You guys did good on this."

"Thanks," Koji said. "But um…do any of you know what the upgrades are that the Jubalins supposedly put in?"

Remus shook his head. "Sorry. They don't really feel the need to divulge this information to me."

"I thought so," Koji said softly. "I suppose we're just gonna have to trust them on this one."

"Easier said than done," Stan said, crossing his arms.

"I know what you mean." Koji looked down at his laptop. "Well, the scans say that everything is working; nothing _seems_ out of place…"

Stan made a noise of discontent and walked toward the control room. "Guess we'd just better get ready now."

"Yeah, I guess." Koji followed him as Eva and Jordan climbed into the cockpit and turret.

"Remus!" Eva called down. "Do you know who we're training with today?"

"The Jubalins!" Remus shouted. "That's why Stan and Koji are so worried. You know Agrona. They wouldn't trust her with a stick!"

"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't either."

"Exactly."

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva sat down and closed the cockpit.

The hologram screen turned on. Don appeared with Stan and Koji working in the background.

"Alright, Eva," Don said. "We don't know how the Jubalins plan on training you, so be careful. I don't trust Agrona."

"Join the club, Dad," Eva said. She turned on the Arrow and flew out to the pond. "What's that?"

What looked like a floating tree trunk was on the track around the pond. Agrona was on top, manning a machine gun. She spun it around to face the Arrow.

Inside the cockpit of the Arrow, the hologram screen came back on. "So,"

Andraste said, "are you ready for your training?"

"Uh, yeah, sure…but just what are we doing?"

"Well, first we're going to have a race so we can see what you need to improve upon," Andraste said.

"Um…okay. Sounds good to me."

"Duncan will be our signal. When he lowers his arm, we go."

Eva looked up and saw Duncan a little ways away with his arm held up over his head. Agrona waved to Duncan.

"That was the signal for him that we're ready. It's his call now when to let us go. So keep your eyes—"

Duncan dropped his arm.

Andraste was off like a shot; Agrona immediately started firing at them. Eva, who had been caught off guard, lurched the Arrow forward, throwing Jordan back in his seat. She quickly caught up with Andraste.

A bullet hit the windshield, cracking it. Eva jumped; barrel rolling under the

Jubalins to the other side, she shook off the shock. Agrona stopped firing.

Spinning the gun around, she waited until it was pointed at the Arrow before starting again. Jordan switched the turret; he returned the fire. The lasers scorched the Jubalin ship, but Agrona's bullets were cracking the windshield of the turret.

"How is she doing that?" Jordan exclaimed. "None of our other opponents have!"

"That's because none of them were aiming for the glass!" Eva replied. She preformed The Edge. Immediately Agrona stopped firing.

"What's she doing?" Jordan asked.

"I don't—" Eva gasped. Agrona had started firing again, this time for the engines.

Eva barrel rolled once more; Jordan switched the turret and shot straight for Agrona. Agrona dropped down and flattened herself against the ship, hands over her head.

"Yeah! That'll teach her! Okay, Eva, you're clear to take the—"

The Jubalin ship swerved and slammed into them. The Arrow was almost thrown into one of the rocks jutting up out of the lake. Eva only just managed to avoid it.

"What the heck was that for?" Jordan shouted.

"Gee, you think it might have anything to do with you trying to kill her gunner?" Eva shot back.

"Watch out!"

A bullet shattered the glass. Eva threw an arm up, then spun the ship upside down; the glass fell to the ground. Eva gripped her rocket seat tightly. She righted the ship. Pulling her goggles down over her eyes, she grinned and shot forward.

This was a very interesting race.

"Eva, what are you, crazy?" Jordan demanded. "The cockpit's shattered, you could get shot! We need to end this now!"

But the finish line was almost in sight. Just a little farther…

"We're almost there, Jordan! Hold on tight!" Eva slammed the side of the Arrow into the Jubalin ship. Andraste hit her back.

The hologram screen popped back up. "This has been a great race, Seren, but it's over."

"What are you talking about? And what did you just call me?"

Andraste just smirked and broke the connection. Eva glanced over at Andraste's ship and saw a panel pull back into the ship. Eva's blood ran cold. A sort of thin cannon rolled into view. The next thing Eva knew, she was slamming on the brakes to avoid a small cannon ball; it flew past her and smashed a hole in one of the rocks. Eva stepped on the gas, but sadly it wasn't enough: the Jubalins crossed the finish line first.

Eva sighed and returned the Arrow to the hanger; Stan and Koji would have to fix the cockpit glass as well as the turret before they could do anything more. She lifted the goggles from her eyes and adjusted them back on top of her head. She jumped down to the ground.

"What the heck did you break the glass for?" Jordan shouted.

Eva turned to him.

"I broke it because it was the most vulnerable part of your ship," Agrona said.

"You should always aim for the weak points. That's how you win. We threw Eva off enough that she lost."

"That's cheating."

Agrona smiled sweetly. "You can't cheat in a race with no rules," she said as though she were speaking to a five year old. "See? If there aren't any rules to break, there's no way to cheat. Do you understand now?"

Jordan grabbed her vest and hauled her up off the ground to eye level. "Don't you talk to me like that! Just because you have no sense of honor—"

"Just because you're a lousy gunner doesn't mean you get to touch me!" Agrona bit his hand. With a shout, Jordan dropped her.

"She bit me!"

"How astute of you, oh wise one. What other bits of insight can you give us to the goings-on that are shrouded in mystery to us mortals?"

Eva glanced around. She, herself, wasn't brave enough to get between Agrona and anyone she was mad at, but she had to wonder where Andraste was and how long she'd let her partner go on like this. She saw Bardawulf looking at Agrona fondly; but he suddenly seemed to remember something and looked away. Just as Eva was about to ask him what was going on between him and Agrona, Andraste appeared at her side.

"Come on. We need to brush up those piloting skills of yours," she said. "You're

a good pilot, but we need to make you a great one before you get to Oban."

"Alright," Eva said. "Where do we start?"

"Well, there's nothing we can do until Stan and Koji fix that glass," Andraste said thoughtfully, "but I can tell you what I noticed while we wait if you like."

"Sure." Eva sat down on a crate.

Andraste hopped up to join her. "Well," she said, "I noticed that you depend on

Jordan to protect you from enemy fire and that you don't do much dodging. A truly great pilot would be able to fly and dodge at the same—like your mother."

"You know my mother?" Eva asked surprise.

Andraste waved a hand. "Everyone knows about your mother. She would've been the winner of the interplanetary race if it hadn't been for her crash. Even Spirit admits that."

"Woah, wait, when did you speak with Spirit?"

"Do you think that news doesn't spread from planet to planet? Because it does.

That's how I know. Anyway, back to your piloting skills. The next thing is, expect the unexpected…"

**-.oOOo.-**

Against their better judgment, Stan and Koji let the Jubalins continue to train

Eva. Duncan had admitted that they were doing a better job than he could (but only because they had an actual ship instead of a living mount and could therefore give better advice on how to handle a ship.) Over the next four days, Eva steadily grew better; she dodged more and learned how to use those maneuvers to gain ground on her opponent. Agrona and Jordan still clashed every time she criticized him, but Eva had noticed that he had begun to incorporate her techniques into his own gunning. He began to look for weak points and communicated with her to plan strategies. During one training lesson, they feigned to the left, flew over the Jubalin ship and smashed down the front end while Jordan covered her from Agrona who was on the back end of the ship.

Needless to say, they had won that training race.

Andraste was openly pleased about how Eva was doing, bragging about Eva like Eva was her pilot instead of Don's. Agrona's compliments were more candidly backhanded (mostly to Jordan) but Eva had learned to take them as though they were strictly compliments (a backhanded compliment was the best thing you could get out of Agrona anyway). Jordan still had to master this technique, however.

Eva was sitting with Andraste outside the hanger, eating a sandwich (Andraste and Agrona were eating salads) when Satis popped up out of no where.

"Hello there, Earthling. Jubalins." He gripped his beard. "Are you enjoying the sunlight?"

"Yeah, a lot," Eva said.

"Good, good; but I'm sure you'll like it even better on Oban, all of you."

"I'll bet." Eva tore into her sandwich again. Training made a person hungry.

"Wait…" Agrona narrowed her eyes. "'All of you'?"

"Oh, yes! Bah! That's right! I forgot to tell you!" Satis smiled. "The ships to take you and the Lupanians home have broken down. You're all going to Oban."

**_Chapter preview: Welcome to Oban –_** _Agrona's eyes widened in horror. "The _

_Lupanians…?" The next thing anyone knew Agrona was grabbing Satis by the front of his robes. "NO! No! Anything but this! Please…!" _

_Satis shook his head. "Sorry. There's nothing I can do." _

_Agrona sat down on the ground and stared in shock. _

I'm sorry for the crappiness of this chapter, although most of you will probably tell me it's not crappy. (sighs) Anyway, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to update Moon and Star for a while. Since the next chapter takes them to

Oban, I'm going to need to be able to rewatch the episodes before I write the corresponding chapter to make sure that I don't miss anything important in the cannon and screw up the whole story. Sadly, my school blocks youtube and I still haven't gotten TV back, so I can't watch the DVDs I made either.

SO, here's what I'm going to do. I'm working on another story about Jordan as Avatar 10,000 years into the future hosting the next great race of Oban. I've also got an idea for two other fics that I'm toying with, but I've actually started the first chapter of the one with Jordan. I'll work solely on that story until I can watch the episodes before writing them for Moon and Star. If I get the computer back before that story ends (which I don't see becoming anywhere near as long as this) I'll just put it in a rotation with Moon and Star, i.e. I'll update a chapter of Moon and Star, then a chapter of that story and then a chapter of Moon and Star again.

So…how does that sound?

And don't forget to review. The button is your friend. (nods)


	24. Welcome to Oban

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Oban Star-racers. I do own the Lupanians and Jubalins.

A/N: A special thanks goes to my parents who allowed me to use the computer for the rest of the vacation which allowed me to use youtube. This will be the last chapter of Moon and Star at you will have for a while, but it's a bonus so enjoy it!

You'd better, anyway, I worked my butt off to finish it before I lost the computer again. These chapters usually take me a week or so to finish—I completed this in three days. Love me! PRAISE ME!

**This chapter is dedicated to Eva4Aikka from the official OSR forum who was able to tell me the meaning of Andraste's nickname for Eva. **

**Seren is Welsh for Star.**

Part Two: Oban

Moon and Star

Ch.24: Welcome to Oban

"We're going to Oban?" Andraste asked. Then she smiled. "Sweet."

"So the Lupanians are staying too?" Eva asked hopefully.

"Yes, yes," Satis said.

Agrona's eyes widened in horror. "The Lupanians…?" The next thing anyone knew Agrona was grabbing Satis by the front of his robes. "NO! No! Anything but this! Please…!"

Satis shook his head. "Sorry. There's nothing I can do."

Agrona sat down on the ground and stared in shock.

Andraste, who had been sitting on the other side of Eva, stood up and walked over to Agrona. "Now, now, Agrona. It's not that bad."

In a flash, Agrona latched onto Andraste, sobbing into her partner's shoulder. Eva's mouth dropped open. Andraste stared at Agrona with an expression that clearly said 'what the hell have you done with Agrona you body snatching alien scumbag?!'

Satis smiled. "Well, I'd best be going."

Andraste's gaze snapped to him, disbelieving, confused and horrified all at the same time. "You're just going to _leave_ us here with this…this _thing?_" Andraste pointed wildly at Agrona who was still attached to her like a leech, bawling.

Satis frowned. "Now, now, that's no way to talk about your partner."

A wild look came over Andraste. "This isn't my partner!" she cried. "I don't know what the hell this is but it isn't Agrona!"

Satis shook his head, stroking his beard. "Well…I'm afraid I can't help you there. It might be an Earth worm. I heard their quite parasitic."

"Where'd you hear _that?_" Eva demanded. But just at that moment, Agrona completely lost it and screamed. Eva jumped and spun around to look at her; she was now sitting on the ground, staring at nothing and screaming bloody murder. Eva whipped her head back around to Satis…but he was gone. Eva glanced around. He was no where to be seen. "Well…that was weird…"

**-.oOOo.-**

"Eva…Eva, wake up. We're here." A hand landed on her shoulder and shook her gently. She groaned and opened her eyes.

"Dad?" She sat up. "What…?"

"We're here. …Are you alright? You didn't get any sleep last night," Don whispered. Jordan was slumped against a stack of boxes, and Remus was curled up next to Eva.

Rubbing her eyes, she looked around. They were inside the Avatar's ship; the Arrow was covered and secured nearby.

"Eva…are you going to answer me?"

Eva bit her lip. It was true that she hadn't gotten any sleep last night. She didn't understand it; she wasn't afraid of Remus, and she didn't blame him for what he had tried to do (it hadn't really been him, after all, had it?) so why was she having these dreams now? Shouldn't she have had these right after it had happened and not days afterward?

Don sat down in front of her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Eva sighed. _Not really._ But then again…she'd never had anyone to talk to about her dreams. It felt nice to know that someone cared and would actually listen.

"Okay," Eva said. "Well…they start out with me on Alwas…only it's shrouded in mist, and I'm running from something. I don't know what, but—" At that moment, Eva shifted away from Remus; instantly, Remus wiggled back against her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Snuggling his face against his side, he murmured, "Teddy…"

Eva and Don stared at him.

"Did he just…?"

"I don't want to know," Eva said. "I don't even want to ask."

"Probably for the best," Don said. "We might get a story about how he disemboweled his teddy bear or stuck a fork in its eye or burned it or did all three while saying things in a high pitched voice like, 'oh no, don't hurt me!'"

"Uuuuummmm…okay…You got that from…where?"

"Your mother was a very…interesting person," Don said as though that explained everything.

Eva stared at him, her mouth hanging open slightly. After a moment, she managed to say, "I don't want to know…do I?"

"It all depends. Do you?"

Eva glanced at Remus. "Maybe not now. I think it might give him subconscious ideas."

"Most likely…now, you were saying? About your dreams?"

"Oh, yeah, well, I'm running from something and—"

"MOON GOD, I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Eva sighed. "Looks like everybody's up…" She placed a hand on Remus shoulder and shook him. "Do…do you think we could talk about this later?"

"Of course, Eva, anytime you want." Don stood up and offered her his hand.

"Hold on a sec, Dad." Eva clenched her fist and beat Remus' back. "WAKE UP!"

Remus jolted, scrambling to his feet. "WORMS!" Then he blinked and glanced down at Eva. "Oh…it's only you."

"…You scare me," Eva said. She took her father's hand, and he helped her up. "You really do."

"Why's that?" Remus asked confused.

"Let me count the ways," Eva sighed, walking away. As she past Jordan, she paused…then kicked his leg. Jordan opened his eyes groggily.

"Wha…?"

"We're here," Eva said. Then she raced up the stairs. She entered a courtyard area where the Lupanians and Jubalins were gathered with Stan and Koji. Koji was looking extremely nervously while Stan just appeared ticked off. Eyes landing on Hemming, Eva was startled. The bags under his eyes were darker and more pronounced than ever, his skin paler, and he looked ready to collapse at any moment. "Are you okay?"

Hemming turned to her, startled. "Who? Me?"

"Yeah, you don't look so good," she said.

Hemming shrugged. "I'll live. I just didn't get a good sleep last night."

"I heard ya," Eva muttered. She noticed another set of stairs leading to a balcony like area. Her father was standing there, holding a pair of binoculars. _Weird. I hadn't even noticed him come up…_ Glancing around, she noticed that he was alone. Quickly she jogged up the stairs. She stopped near the edge, stunned. Oban had seven moons alone as well as several other planets.

"Wow," she whispered. "So this is Oban."

A hand grabbed her arm. "Eva! Don't stand so close to the edge!" Don snapped. He pulled her back a few feet.

"Sir, what—?" She stared up at Don.

Don's grip on her arm loosened, and there was an odd look on his face.

Eva felt like smacking herself when she realized she'd called him 'sir'. "What's wrong with standing near the edge, Dad?"

Don glanced at the edge, seeming to judge their distance from it. Even though they were at least five feet away that didn't seem to be enough for him. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Don gently pulled her back another foot.

"It's a long way down," he finally said.

Eva blinked. "What?"

"We're miles from the ground."

"Really?" Eva took a step forward. "Let me see."

"No." Don gripped her shoulder firmly. "It's dangerous. Just stay away from it. Please."

"Okay…but if we're miles from the ground…what kind of place is this?" Eva said. She turned and found herself face to face with Remus. With a startled scream, she jumped back into Don.

"Remus," Don growled, "would you stop doing that? You're going to give someone a heart attack."

"But, sir!" Remus gasped. "She wanted to know where we are! I can't believe she doesn't know!" Remus stepped back, clasping his hands together and grinning. "We're in a magical place where dreams come true!" He spread his arms and spun around. "I can finally be a fairy princess!" Then he hopped off, flapping his arms like wings.

Don and Eva just stared. After a moment, Don finally managed to say, "…Tell me, Eva, when you befriend someone do you look for sanity in a person?"

"He _seemed_ perfectly normal at the time," Eva said. "Otherwise, I would've kicked him off my rocket seat and left him back on Earth."

"That's good to know," Don said, patting her shoulder.

"Yeah," Eva said as Don looked out at Oban again though his binoculars, "since he has no sanity to speak of, the only thing Remus has going for him is that he's cute."

Don lowered the binoculars from his eyes. "I think I miss heard you," he said. "Could you repeat that?" She might have imagined it, but Eva swore that Don's eye twitched.

Eva grinned. "I said that the only thing Remus has going for him are his looks since he has no sanity. He _is_ pretty cute, after all."

Yup, a definite eye twitch there.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don gripped his binoculars tightly, forcing his eye not to twitch and failing horribly. It seemed like only yesterday that he and Maya were reading Eva bed time stories and tucking her into bed, and now she was noticing boys. Maya had used to tease him about how one day he'd buy a shot gun just so he could polish it when Eva's boyfriend came over. Don had just laughed and joked along. Now, he found himself taking it as a serious suggestion.

Eva's grin grew wider, and Don suddenly wanted to laugh. She was teasing him the same way Maya used to.

"Be careful, young lady," Don said seriously, "or I'll make sure to scare off any boyfriend you ever get."

Eva looked surprised, then uncertain and then defiant. "You can't do that."

"You'd be surprised the effect it has on a boy when he goes to his girlfriend's house only to find her father polishing a shotgun," Don said. "And things like that get around."

"Are you serious?" Eva asked.

For a moment, Don thought he saw…hope…in her eyes. But that couldn't have been right. Shaking his head with a smile, he turned his attention back to Oban. "For years scientists have said that the center of our galaxy was a black hole. Does this look like a black hole? Oban is amazing!"

"Yeah, I guess so," Eva said. She looked around. "Now…where did Remus get to…?"

Don looked at her, frowning. "I do hope you don't intend to ever date him."

"No! Of course not! Remus is just a friend; he's more like my brother than anything else. Besides, if we ever did go out, I'd probably feel more like his babysitter than his girlfriend," Eva said. "And, anyway, I like someone else. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go make sure the fairy princess doesn't hurt himself."

"Eva, wait! What did you just say?!"

But Eva had already run off.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus laughed. "Oh God, did you _really_ tell Don that you liked somebody?"

"Yeah," Eva said. "Probably not the best idea in retrospect."

"Maybe not, but you sure seem happy about something," Remus said. "What is it?"

"Well…I've been kind of afraid that as soon as we got back to earth my dad would drop me back off at Stern," Eva said. "But…well, he's not acting like it."

"Of course he's not; he's never been planning to send you back," Remus said. "I would've known. My sixth sense thing would beat me over the head with a brick."

"Yeah…and once I win the Ultimate Prize, I'll bring Mom back," Eva said softly. "We'll finally be a family again…a complete one."

Remus shifted uncomfortably. For some reason he felt extremely uneasy about the Ultimate Prize, but he still couldn't place it. It was driving him crazy.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked. "Do we just stand around or are we supposed to go somewhere?"

"I don't know. We could go ask my dad, I'm sure he'd know," Eva said.

"Right," Remus said. "Let's go find him."

**-.oOOo.-**

"Yo, old man!" Agrona shouted. "Where's your pilot?"

Don stopped. "You mean, she isn't with you?"

Andraste shook her head. "No."

"She said she was going to find Remus," Don said. "I assumed that once she did, she'd come to you. Are you saying you haven't seen her at all?"

"We haven't seen her or Remus since they where with you," Duncan said.

Agrona grinned. "My, my, Seren and the Moon God are missing… I do wonder…what ever might they be doing?"

Don paled.

"Agrona!" Andraste smacked her upside the head. "They're just friends! Stop giving poor Mr. Wei a heart attack."

"That's what they all say," Agrona said. "But friendship leads to crushes which leads to love which leads to kissing which leads to se—"

Andraste jumped a mile high and slapped a hand over Agrona's mouth. Don looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Agrona struggled to remove Andraste's hand.

"Don't worry, Mr. Wei," Andraste said. "Eva's a smart girl."

Agrona pulled Andraste's hand away from her mouth. "Yeah, I'm sure she's using protection!"

All the blood seemed to drain out of Don Wei's face.

"AGRONA!" Andraste tackled Agrona to the ground, wrestling her into a headlock. "I TOLD YOU TO KNOCK IT OFF! You're going to get Seren in trouble!"

"She won't be in trouble. Unless she tells him, he'll never know what she's doing until she gets pregnant!"

It was at that moment that Eva and Remus decided to appear.

"Until who gets pregnant?" Eva asked.

Everyone froze and looked at Don Wei.

"Where have you two been?" Don asked, eerily calm.

"Around," Eva said with a shrug.

"What have you two been doing?"

"Things," Eva said.

Agrona burst out laughing. "Oh, really? What _kind _of things, Eva? Would one of those things be _Remus_?"

Remus didn't miss a beat. "Well, since she can't have you, she's got to settle for me."

Agrona's jaw dropped. Eva wheeled around to stare at Remus, horrified. Suddenly Lily and the twins doubled over laughing.

"Oh man…that was good!" Lupita gasped. She and Lupe leaned against each other as they sank to the floor. Lily grabbed Duncan's shoulder to try and support herself.

Andraste stood up, smiling at Remus. "Good one."

"Thank you," Remus said, bowing.

"Well, Agrona? What do you have to say? Surely with your sharp wit, you have _something_," Andraste said.

Agrona was still staring at Remus. "That…wasn't fair…"

"All's fair in love and war," Remus said.

"Besides, you're only saying that because you've not nothing to say back," Andraste said. "Now get up."

"Fine," Agrona grumbled. She pushed herself to her feet. Then she smiled. "But, please, do tell…was she good?"

Remus grinned. "Very."

Eva turned bright red and curled her hands into fists. "_Remus_."

Remus draped an arm around her shoulders. "Relax, darling, I'm only playing."

"If don't _stop_ playing, I'm going hit you."

"Really? Will I like it?"

"_Remus—"_

"ENOUGH!" Don shouted. "We've got a meeting with the other racers to learn the rules. Now GO!" He pointed toward a bridge that had formed between their module and the main ship that they were floating around.

Everyone made a mad dash for the bridge. It as only once they were half way across that they dared to slow to a walk. Eva, Remus and Jordan were in the front.

"So, what were you two _really_ doing?" Jordan asked.

"Just talking," Eva said. She glared at Remus. "And I would've liked it if people didn't now think that we might've been doing something else!"

Remus smiled and shrugged. "Sorry, E, I couldn't help it. Bad rebellious habits, you know."

"Hmph. Whatever." She stalked ahead of them.

"Hey, Eva, what up!" Jordan quickened his stride until he was next to her. "Look, Remus was just being Remus. Why are you so mad now? He does this all the time?"

"Before I didn't have to worry about my father," Eva said. "I always wondered how long it would take him to thrown Remus off a bridge, but I never really thought he'd ever get that annoyed with him. Now I'm afraid he'll thrown him off a skyscraper."

"Nah, Don Wei wouldn't do that. I mean I know it _seems_ like he might, but he wouldn't really…would he?" Jordan glanced over his shoulder uneasily. Don was walking next to Remus who looked ready to bolt should Don so much as glance in his general direction.

"It's the 'would he' part of your statement that makes my point," Eva said. She and Jordan stepped into the archway entrance into the Avatar's ship. They stopped. "Do you see anybody?"

"Hey there!" Jordan shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. "Anybody home?" No answer. Jordan turned to Eva. "I've got a bad feeling about this place."

"Come on, Jordan," Eva said, "at least _pretend_ to be tough." She started forward.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Jordan ran after her.

A loud grinding made them stop and turn around. A slab of stone was sliding down from the top of the archway as the others ran toward them. Just as they reached the archway, the door closed.

**-.oOOo.-**

Don pounded on the stone. "Eva! Jordan! Can you hear me? Eva!"

Koji gripped an edge of one of the designs on the stone and tried to lift it. After a moment, he stopped. "It just won't budge."

"With the tools we brought I'm sure we can open it," Stan said.

Duncan, Bardawulf and Lily stepped forward, transforming into their Lupanian Forms. "Let us try," Duncan said. "We can lift it."

"Forget it." Everyone turned to Agrona. "Let's go back to the ship."

Lily grabbed Agrona by the front of her vest. "I knew you were heartless, but I didn't think you'd leave behind someone you knew!"

Agrona closed her eyes and gripped Lily's wrists. "That stone's not going to move no matter what. Eva and Jordan are the Avatar's guests." She opened her eyes and gave Lily a hard look. "They haven't been locked in. _We've_ been locked out."

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva and Jordan walked down the dark hallway.

"You know we probably should've waited at the door," Jordan said.

"Relax, we can always go back. Besides, now that we're here, we need to know what we're up against," Eva said. They walked through another circular doorway into a courtyard full of red and orange trees. "You know, I'm really starting to like this place." She smiled and ran over to one of the trees and smelled a flower. "I could stay here forever."

"Yeah, as long as it doesn't get _too_ cozy," Jordan said. He turned around and froze. There was some kind of giant insect-like creature near them. It hadn't noticed them. Backing up, he grabbed Eva's arm. "Don't even think about breathing, run for your life when I say go."

"What are you talking—" Then she gasped. The creature turned around.

"Run!" Jordan shouted. He and Eva took off across the courtyard. The creature roared and chased them. Just as it was almost on top of them, they ran under a bridge, between the pillars holding it up. The creature was too large to get through.

Jordan ran into a clearing and stopped; Eva crashed into him. "What—?" She looked around him. In front of them was a line of aliens, a robot, a blue man with a glowing white robe hovering just off the ground, a small pirate like thing standing on a rock, something that looked like a giant blob with one eye, two women that vaguely reminded Jordan of vampires and a huge Crog, even bigger than Toros, with his back to them. The Crog turned around, fixing its yellow eyes on them. It had a scar across its left eye.

"Well, hi there," Eva said awkwardly.

"We're the Earth Team," Jordan said. "Pleased to meet you."

They jumped as they heard the creature behind them. They spun around, only to find that it walked right past them and took its place in line.

"I'm told he won't bite." They looked to the left to see Prince Aikka leaning against a tree, arms crossed. He sounded amused. "As long as you don't provoke him, _he's_ one of the nine finalists."

Jordan felt a distinct blow to his pride. Crossing his own arms, he said, "Thanks Prince, but _I_ clued into _that_ one a while ago."

The creature roared at him. Jordan chuckled nervously.

Eva ran up to Aikka. "Prince Aikka! I'm so glad to see you again."

Aikka looked away.

"What? Are…are you still mad at me? I thought…after…everything…you'd forgiven us. You helped us."

"I owed you for saving me, but on my planet when we make a promise, we keep it," Aikka said. Then he smiled. "But we're also taught how to forgive. I'm not mad at you, Eva."

"Yeah, thanks for beating Spirit for us back on Alwas. It was a big help. Put her there, partner," Jordan said, holding out his hand.

Aikka closed his eyes. "I said I wasn't mad at Eva. _You_ are another matter." Aikka smirked. "So…how's your cheek?"

Jordan growled; Eva put herself between them, pushing them away from each other.

"I saved your life, Prince!"

"Yes, but I didn't ask you too. Nonetheless, I _am_ grateful. However, I showed my gratitude by helping you with your…problem. _Not_ by forgiving you."

"You little—"

"Come on, guys," Eva said exasperatedly. "It's challenging enough on the race track."

"Yes," Aikka said suddenly. "Eva's right. The pre-selections were nothing. We're going to need all our strength." Aikka turned to gaze at the other competitors.

"Have you ever heard of any of these creatures before?" Eva muttered.

"Only two." Aikka looked at the blue man in the glowing white robe that was floating inches above the ground. "That's Sul. He's a powerful magician. Some claim that his powers match the Avatar's…but I have my doubts. And that's the notorious General Kross of the Crog Imperium." He looked at the Crog.

"What happened to Toros?" Jordan said.

"Apparently his superiors weren't two pleased with his defeat," Aikka said.

"What? But he came in first in the pre-selections! Way ahead of everyone else!" Eva exclaimed.

"To the Crogs, failure is _not_ an option."

Kross glanced over at them and approached. Eva tensed.

"I knew that Toros had grown soft," Kross said in a deep voice, "but to lose to you pitiful _humans…_"

Once again, Jordan felt a blow to his pride. He growled and pointed a finger at Kross. "Well, I guess it just wasn't his day!" _Good one, Jordan, I'm sure that scared the living daylights out of him._ Kross' good eye glowed, and Jordan lost his nerve. Aikka stepped between them.

"In the name of my master, the Avatar, I welcome all the finalist of the Great Race on Oban." They all turned to see Satis standing on a large stone structure in the middle of a pond. Kross growled and walked away. Jordan heard Eva sigh in relief.

The competitors gathered around the edge of the lake.

"Satis," the robot said, "what in the world are you doing here? We left you on Sangrar, 265.4 light-years away."

Jordan, Aikka and Eva moved closer to hear. "Sangrar?" Eva asked.

"It's one of the three planets were the pre-selections were held," Aikka said. "Alwas, Sangrar and Darwar."

Satis was wearing different robes, more colorful and similar to what the Avatar wore. He lowered his hood, smiling. "I've been promoted to spokesperson."

"But how could he be on Sangrar when he was with us on Alwas?" Jordan asked.

"Your attention, please! Winning pilots, the first match of the finals will begin in just a few minutes! There will be nine races total where you will all race against each other at the same time!" Satis announced.

"But we must study the courses," said one of the vampire-like creatures. She had big, black hair and no wings unlike her companion who had short hair and wings.

Satis laughed. "Study the courses? This is the grand finals we're taking about! Each of the races will take place in a different region of Oban, marked only—" (Satis used the glowing yellow ball floating above his staff to draw a circle in the air) "—by stone gates which you will have to find…and fly through." Satis poked his staff through the circle and it disappeared. "There'll be no time for study!"

"Will the scoring rules stay the same?" Sul asked. He was floating next to Eva and Jordan.

Satis smiled. "Just to make things more _interesting_…the first three racers will get points! Nine points to first place, six points to second, and three to third. The Ultimate Prize will be awarded to the pilots totaling the most points at that end of the race. Got it?"

Eva and Jordan looked at each other.

Suddenly the robot spoke. "81 points maximum with 112 possibilities of scoring. It's a fair race, but _I_ will still dominate it!"

"And remember, any attempt on an opponent's life is strictly forbidden!" Satis said.

"Who could possibly think of something like that?" Kross said.

Satis glared at him. "The result will be immediate disqualification!"

Kross' eye narrowed.

"Okay, then everybody, if you're ready, we're off to the races!" Satis hit his staff against the stone structure. A blue ring shot away from him across the water.

The stone ship began to rumble and shake. In a moment, it rose up into the air.

"But my ship! My crew!" the odd pirate creature exclaimed.

"Don't worry, my friend," Satis said, "you're housing modules are coming with us!"

Sure enough, the modules rose up into the air, floating in a ring around the Avatar's ship.

"Now, go and get ready!" Satis said. "We'll be there soon!"

Everyone started to walk away when one of the winged vampire-creature said mockingly, "And how are we supposed to reach our charming modules? Does the Avatar expect us to fly? He's gonna have to give my partner some wings." They both chuckled.

"Oh, don't worry, that won't be necessary," Satis said. "You'll simply use the magical portals."

"Ah, of course, the magical portals." The pirate creature started to walk away when he stopped suddenly. "Ah…where exactly _are_ these magical portals?" He turned back to Satis, but Satis was gone. The creature flailed his arms, shouted, "My ship! My ship!" He ran away.

"I guess we'll just have to find them ourselves," Eva said. She turned to Aikka. "Good luck, Prince."

"And to you, Eva," Prince Aikka said with a small bow.

"Hm. _Good luck, Prince!_" Jordan grabbed Eva's arm. "_We'll_ be waiting for _you_ at the finish line, pal." Then he pulled Eva along as he ran back the way they had come. They reached the doorway, but it was blocked.

"Shoot, it's closed," Eva said. "What now?"

Jordan looked around. Spotting a small structure, he said, "This way." He ran to it with Eva following close behind. He looked inside. There was another key-shaped doorway on the other side, filled with a blinding white light. "Yeah! Follow me!" He ran toward it and jumped through—only to land on the other side, still inside the courtyard. "Hey, I'm still here." He looked back inside.

Eva was looking at circle carved into the side of the wall. She touched it, the stone turned blue and her hand passed right through. Startled, she hastily drew back her hand.

"I was expecting something a little more…you know...magical," Jordan said. Then they looked at each other, grinning, nodded and jumped through. They landed inside the Earth Team module. Don Wei turned around.

"The race is about to start!" Eva exclaimed.

"The Whizzing Arrow 3 is ready; Stan and Koji are standing by," Don said.

**-.oOOo.-**

Aikka started to walk through a magical portal when he was suddenly grabbed by a hand from behind and lifted up into the air. He gripped him painfully tight.

"What were you doing with the humans?" Kross asked. "A person is judged by the company they keep. I wouldn't want you to…" Kross tossed Aikka to the ground. "…fall in with the wrong crowd."

Aikka got to his hands and knees. Looking up at Kross, he said, "I don't know what you're talking about. I came here to win, and I shall!"

"You will not betray us again." Kross turned and left. "Do not forget the Crogs, your…_true_ friends."

**-.oOOo.-**

"The Whizzing Arrow 3 is ready!" Koji announced into the headset. The carvings in the floor began to glow white.

"Koji, come on!" Stan ran off to the side.

Koji turned—something clattered to the floor. He turned to look. It was his wrench.

"Koji, get out of there, come on!" Stan shouted.

But in that moment of hesitation, the floor began to collapse under Koji's feet. He ran toward Stan as the floor opened up. Just as he reached out for Stan, the floor completely opened up—and Koji fell.

He thrust out his hand, managing to snag the edge of the stable floor. "Stan! Help me!" Stan grabbed Koji's wrists and pulled him to safety. Shaken, they watched the racers plummet to the ground miles below.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva was rising up off her rocket seat. She gripped the handles tightly, trying to force herself down. "We're falling too fast here!"

**-.oOOo.-**

Stan and Koji ran into the control room where Don, the Lupanians and the Jubalins already were.

"Star-racers aren't meant to fly!" Koji said. "Push all lift reactors to the max!"

**-.oOOo.-**

"Got it!" Eva punched in the code. The Arrow didn't seem to be slowing down. The ground was rapidly approaching. She held the handles in a death grip. The Arrow fell into the cannon, hitting what appeared to be roots that stretched from wall to wall. She struggled to get the Arrow under control. She hit another root, spinning into the wall, grazed a rock and finally steady the Arrow. She wiped a gloved arm across her forehead.

"Hull okay at ninety percent. The booster drives took a beating though," Koji said.

Stan appeared on the hologram screen. "Excellent work, Eva!" Stan winked. "We'll fix this little problem after the race." He gave her a thumbs up. "That's a promise."

"It'd better be," Eva heard Remus say before the screen disappeared.

She flew a little ways farther before saying, "Satis said something about stone doors. Do you see anything on your scanners?"

"We don't have enough data yet, Eva. Just keep following the others for now," Don said.

Eva caught up with a pirate ship. The crew ran around frantically. She heard Jordan chuckle…until cannons appeared from the side. Eva ducked as one flew over them, barely missing the cockpit; she pulled up sharply. For a quick second, she stepped hard on the break; the cannonball missed them by inches.

Jordan growled, but mastered the impulse to shoot. His eyes scanned the ship carefully. It was difficult with Eva jerking the Arrow around every few seconds, but patience _was_ a virtue; one Agrona didn't seem to possess off the race track, but had nonetheless and passed onto Jordan.

He couldn't see anything obvious to disable it, however, the top was open and the crew exposed. If he fired just above them, they were bound to panic and hit the deck. That would stop them from loading the cannons. Jordan took aim and fired away; the pirates hit the deck. Eva pulled ahead.

They flew around a corner. "Got it!" Eva exclaimed. "The first stone gate!" As she flew through it, it glowed quickly.

"Looks like we got something!" Koji said. "The gates emit sonar vibrations! If I can decode it, maybe we can trace it!"

Up ahead was Aikka. Eva quickly caught up with him; they weaved through roots and challenged each other for the lead. The next stone gate was coming up. A blue blast came from Aikka and G'dar, sending Eva spinning. Aikka passed through the gate; the Arrow missed it. Eva hit the brakes, spun around and flew through it.

A minute later, dust rose up from the track up ahead. "What's going on?" During one of the training sessions, Eva had discovered a camera the Jubalins had installed in the Arrow. A screen popped up; she zoomed in. Aikka was picking himself up off the ground and walking over to G'dar.

"Aikka!" Eva exclaimed.

"Eva," Don said, "don't stop! You've still got a race!"

Eva growled and flew passed; as she did, Jordan fired just over Aikka's head.

"Jordan!" Eva snapped. "Are you out of your mind?"

"You know, Eva, you should have more faith in your partner," Jordan said.

Eva looked back at Aikka just as a giant bug fell from the roots, dead. "Sorry, Jordan," Eva said. "I should've trusted you."

"Yes, you should've. Now watch the road, please."

They flew along for another minute.

"Where is everybody?" Eva asked. "Have you found the next gate, Koji?"

"I'm uploading the data to your computer. This should do the trick," Koji said.

The arrow of the hologram in front of Eva swung down to the right and blinked.

"I think it's working! But we're not even _near_ the gate." Eva turned the Arrow down another path. They went on like that for another few minutes until they found the next gate. "There it is!"

Suddenly, the vampire-creatures zoomed past them and through the gate first. They were soon out of sight.

Eva growled, scanning the area ahead of them for the next gate. "There it is," she muttered. But just as she reached it, the gate crumbled. "What?"

Don appeared on the hologram screen. "It's over, Eva. Sul came in first, O second and Kross third." In the background, Eva heard Remus demanded, "How do you know their names? I don't even know what they are!"

"Over?" Eva exclaimed. "But I—"

"_We_ came in fifth, just behind Ning and Skun," Don said. "We have no points. Head back to the flying temple at once. I suppose it could've been a lot worse for our first race on Oban." Despite the fact that he was trying to sound as encouraging as he could, Eva could clearly hear the disappointment in his voice. It hurt.

"No points is like no race at all," Eva replied. "I have to do better." Then she muttered, "I don't have a choice. I _have_ to win the Ultimate Prize."

**-.oOOo.-**

Don sighed; he knew that Eva could tell he was disappointed in the way she replied. But what she muttered next made him worried. "I don't have a choice. I _have_ to win the Ultimate Prize."

Don glanced around, but no one else seemed to have heard her (they were no longer paying)…except for Remus who was frowning. _Remus would know what's going on with her,_ he thought. Then he shook his head. He'd talk to Eva about it himself.

_**Chapter preview: Fierce Like Lord Furter –**__ "Eva, I think you're getting just a little obsessed with the Ultimate Prize," Remus said. _

"_What's wrong with wanting to win the Ultimate Prize?" Eva demanded. _

"_Nothing!" Remus said. "There's nothing wrong with it, I support you fully! I'm just getting worried that the only thing you care about is the Ultimate Prize! That's not healthy." _

_Don stood completely still during the silence that followed those words. He took a chance and peeked around the corner. Eva was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyes to the floor. _

"_I know…it's just…he was disappointed in me, I could tell," Eva said. "And…I don't like that feeling." _

(collapses out of chair) I'm sorry if this feels rushed or choppy at all but I was in a time crunch. If I wanted to get it out to you I only had three days to get it done. I usually take a week! But I'm hoping you'll all appreciate the unexpected bonus update. Now, THIS is really the last time I'll be able to update Moon and Star for a while.

Push the button, it's your friend, and it loves you.


	25. Lord Fuerter

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Oban Star-racers.

I'm BAAAAAACK! throws head back and laughs manically

Moon and Star

Ch.25: Fierce Like Lord Fuerter--Part One  


"Sir, have you see Eva? And Remus for that matter?"

"No, Jordan, I haven't. Is something wrong?"

"No, well…it's just that we were all supposed to go to bed half an hour ago. They're not back yet."

Don frowned and stood up from his desk. "Very well. You go back to bed; I'll look for them."

"Okay, sir," Jordan said, and walked out of the room.

Don quickly locked the picture box and slipped the key into his chest pocket before leaving the room. They had discovered that although there were seven members of the Earth team, six Lupanians, one wolf and two Jubalins, there had been only three rooms. It had turned out (thankfully) that the Lupanians preferred to sleep together using each others body heat to keep warm, and the Jubalins liked to sleep outside and gaze at the stars. Still, Don hadn't been happy when he had discovered that Eva would have to share a room with Jordan despite there not being any doors on the rooms. He had only allowed it because Remus, who had originally been going to sleep with the other Lupanians, had offered to sleep in the same room with them.

"Don't worry about there only being one bed," Remus had said. "Eva's made a hammock and I'll…well, I'll just sleep on the floor. I'm used to it."

And while this new development had only made Don a little happier than before, he was far more comfortable with the knowledge that Remus was keeping an eye on the two when he himself could not. Even though Remus may have been an odd ball, and Jordan more down to Earth, Don trusted Eva when she said that they were nothing more than friends—surrogate siblings perhaps—where as Jordan was just her partner and could very possibly become something more.

After ten minutes of searching, Don was about to call for them when he suddenly heard muffled voices. He approached the corner silently, and they became clearer.

"Eva, I think you're getting just a little obsessed with the Ultimate Prize," said a male voice that Don recognized as Remus's.

"What's wrong with wanting to win the Ultimate Prize?" Eva demanded.

"Nothing!" Remus said. "There's nothing wrong with it, I support you fully! I'm just getting worried that the only thing you care about is the Ultimate Prize! That's not healthy."

Don stood completely still during the silence that followed those words.

"I know…it's just…he was disappointed in me, I could tell," Eva said. "And…I don't like that feeling."

"Wait; is this about the Ultimate Prize or Don?" Remus asked.

"I don't know! Both!" Eva burst out. "They've always been connected!"

"True, true," Remus said. "I guess they have… But I don't think he's really disappointed in you. I think he's disappointed that we lost the race, but don't think he's disappointed in you; you're doing your best, he knows that—he's _got_ to know that."

Eva sighed heavily. "I guess…it's just…okay, this might sound stupid but I can't help but worry that he's going to send me back to the Stern Boarding School as soon as we get back to Earth."

Don's heart sank; she thought he was going to abandon her again?

Remus didn't reply immediately. "That's not stupid. Not really. It won't happen, but I don't think you're stupid. I'd probably be afraid of that too, if I was you."

"Thanks Remus."

"Come on; we should get back to bed," Remus said.

"Yeah…let's go."

They headed off in the opposite direction of Don who was staring at the ground. He wasn't sure why this had hit him so hard—after ignoring her for ten years was it really any wonder that she was afraid he'd do it again?—but he stood there for a minute before heading back to his room.

He nearly ran right into them on his way. "What are you two doing out of bed?" he asked.

"Just talking a walk," Remus said. "E had something she wanted to talk about, but we were just heading back."

"Alright." He turned to Eva and said, "I realized that I hadn't told you earlier, but I want you to know that I'm very proud of you. You raced very well."

Eva brightened. "Thank you, Dad."

"Goodnight," he said. Eva and Remus returned the sentiment, and then they went their separate ways.

**-.oOOo.-**

When they awoke the next morning, Eva dressed and pulled back the curtain that separated her from Jordan and Remus. Jordan was still sprawled out on his cot asleep, but Remus, while still curled into a ball on the floor, stared up at her, his green eyes bright. She smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Remus returned with a grin.

Then he got to his feet, grabbed his backpack which was by the door and slipped behind the curtain to change himself. Eva waited patiently for several minutes before Remus came out dressed in some clothes that Hemming, who was about the same height as Remus, had given him.

"You like?" Remus asked, turning around in a circle. He wore a black leather vest, a brown shirt and baggy brown pants.

"It's okay," Eva said. "Now come on. We've got two hours before the next race starts and—"

"What do you mean 'okay'? Am I not pretty?" Remus asked alarmed. His eyes got really wide. He rushed forward and grabbed Eva's shoulders, looking ready to cry. "Tell me I'm pretty!"

"Okay! Okay! You're pretty!"

Remus instantly became happy. "Thank you."

"You're…welcome?"

A groan caught their attention. They looked over to see Jordan sitting up, rubbing his eyes and hugging his pillow.

"Aw," Remus groaned. "I wanted to jump on him."

"You still can; I'm not stopping you," Eva said. "Just make it quick, okay? We've got a race in two hours, and I want to explore a bit."

"Two hours is a lot of time, little one," Remus said wisely. Then he turned and walked over to Jordan. He stood there for a moment—then he grabbed the pillow and beat Jordan over the head with it before running out of the room.

"What was that for?" Jordan asked irritably, trying to brush down his hair.

Eva shrugged. "I think he was trying to get you up. …Come on, Jordan! Get ready! This might be our only chance to explore!"

"Alright, alright," Jordan grumbled, getting to his feet. "Give me a minute, will ya? And unless you want to watch, could you please leave the room?"

Eva turned bright red and quickly walked out of the room.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus and Eva ran down the hallway of the module toward the outside. The modules had all set down for a little while before the races. A hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Remus around the arm, causing him to spin back around and face the other way.

"What the—oh, hello, sir," Remus said.

"Good morning, Remus," Don said. "There is something I would like to ask you, if you wouldn't mind."

"No, of course not," Remus said. He looked over his shoulder at Eva who had stopped and was watching curiously. "You go on. I'll catch up later if I can."

"What? But Remus—"

"Just go. Jordan's coming along soon, anyway," Remus said. "It's not like you're going to be alone."

A strange look flitted across Don's face. Eva seemed to recognize it as a tell tale sign that he might stop her and ran out of the module and down the long flight of steps and out sight. Jordan quickly followed.

"Hey, Eva, wait up!"

"Jordan, Eva, where do you think—?"

But they were already gone.

Don sighed.

"Er…sir? Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Don cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, there was. I'd like to speak to you about Eva…and Jordan perhaps."

"Yeah, what about them?" Remus asked.

"Yes, well, Eva said…or let slip rather…that she, er, likes someone, and I was, ah, hoping—er, wondering—whether or not you would, ah, happen to know who that, uh, would be."

"Oh. …_Oh,"_ Remus said. "Er, well…you see…I can't exactly say. I mean, you've met him…or heard of him rather, but I'm not going to betray Eva's trust by telling you. Sorry. I just can't."

"I see…I understand not wanted to betray Eva's confidence, but I have to know who it is so—" Don trailed off; Remus was staring at him oddly. After a moment, Remus said:

"It's not Jordan, if that's what you're thinking."

"Oh…I see. Well, I wasn't…maybe not _him_ exactly, but I…I wondered…"

"It's not anybody on the team, don't worry about that," Remus said.

"Well, then, she likes someone back on Earth?" Don asked.

"Er…well…I didn't say _that_ exactly, but, uh…yeah…I'm pretty sure. I mean, I don't actually know him. Never met him, and she's, uh, never mention a name, really, just a nickname, so I can't tell you who it is…"

"What's his nickname?" Don asked swiftly.

"Er…" Remus hesitated. "Prince. It's Prince. I'm not sure how he got it. Never mentioned it. Um, well, I've gotta go now, sir, make sure Eva hasn't gotten into any trouble, you see." Don looked like he wanted to ask another question; Remus turned and ran toward the doorway.

He was just about there when Agrona stepped out in front of him, paws on her hips. "Where is she?"

"Er…who?" he asked stupidly.

"Eva, you dolt," Agrona snapped.

"Er…" Remus shrugged slowly with a weak smile.

"Is that so?"

"Er…yes…?"

"Very well, then." She grabbed the hem of his vest and trudged down the hall, dragging him with her.

"Ah! Hey, what are you doing?" Remus demanded.

"I'm going to train you," she said simply.

"In what?"

"Oh, I don't know. You're just the most pathetic excuse for a Moon God that I've ever seen," Agrona said. "If I'm going to hate your kind, I have to make sure that none of them are pathetic enough to feel sorry for."

Remus stammered as she dragged him along until he was finally able to form words. What came out what: "Why do you always call us 'Moon Gods'? We're not gods by any stretch of the imagination."

"No, but you act like it," Agrona said irritably. "You're the 'Moon Spirit's favored children'…if you really were, you wouldn't be hunted like animals. Now come on. We've got a lot of work to do."

Remus wrenched out of her grasp. "Don't. You _ever_. _Ever_. Talk about us being hunted. Understand?"

Agrona stopped and looked up at Remus. A dark shadow had fallen over his face; his eyes burned furiously.

After a moment, she nodded. "Fine. Touchy subject. Whatever. Just come on." Then she grabbed his hand in her paw and pulled him along the corridor once more.

**-.oOOo.-**

Remus collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. Agrona stood over him, arms crossed, her foot tapping impatiently.

"Come on, you pathetic excuse for a Lupanian. Get up and continue running!"

"No," Remus whined. He turned his head to look at Duncan who had been watching for the past hour as Agrona made him lift makeshift weights (such as heavy boxes) and run around the courtyard. "Duncan, please…please, don't let her do this to meeeeeee…"

Duncan nodded. "He's right. You've been working him hard with no complaint. He deserves a break."

"He'll get a break when I—"

"Agrona. Let him be," Bardawulf said softly. He was sitting next to Duncan, scratching Hunter's ears.

Agrona's words seem to have caught in her throat. Then she huffed and muttered, "Fine."

A sudden yelling caught their attention.

"—could've gotten —_almost did_ get yourself killed! What were you thinking?"

"It's against the rules to try to kill an opponent! We were thinking that no one would try it!"

Eva strode into the courtyard with Don quick behind; Jordan shuffled in after them, looking as though he was trying to disappear into the wall.

Remus sat up swiftly and watched them with rapt attention.

"Of course someone would try it!" Don shouted. "Toros sliced your ship in half—he could have killed you then! What makes you think now would be any different?"

Eva spun around. "I just wanted to have a look around okay! This is a different planet, so why wouldn't I want to explore a little?"

"It could be dangerous, that's why! We don't know what lives here!"

"Well, sorry, I—"

Agrona clapped her paws together. "ALRIGHT!" Everyone fell silent to stare at her. "Seren! You and Jordan need to train a bit before the next race! Both of you get over here!"

Eva hesitated and then trudged forward to stand in front of Agrona. Jordan quickly joined them.

Agrona gave them an evil grin. "Very good. Now…time to make your brains explode."

**-.oOOo.-**

An hour later after Agrona and Andraste insisted on putting Jordan and Eva through their paces with a series of steadily more complicated scenarios that they were supposed to give the correct course of action to, Eva and Jordan sat in the Whizzing Arrow while everyone else stood in the control room. They all knew this race wouldn't be any easier than the last one despite the new terrain. They only hoped that this time they would win.

Eva rubbed her temple; all of Agrona's questions had given her headache, especially toward the head as the answers got more obscure and difficult to find. She placed her hand back on the handle bar and flexed her fingers. "You ready, Jordan?"

"I was born ready!" Jordan said.

"You know, that's what I like about you Jordan," Remus said, appearing on the screen. A wicked grin spread across his face. "Always so ready…and eager."

"Hey, what are you implying?" Jordan shot back.

"Nothing," Remus said, but Eva had turned beat red and slapped a face over her face.

"I don't know you," Eva mumbled. "I don't know you."

"I love you too," Remus said.

Eva shook her head. Then the cracks on the floor started to glow. The floor dropped away, and the Arrow fell toward Oban.

_**Chapter preview: Fierce Like Lord Fuerter Part Two—**__"Okay…pull up, Eva!" Koji said. _

_Eva switched on the boosters and skimmed the surface of the water below them. Ondia, Kross and Sul pulled ahead. Aikka, Ning and Skun, O, and Fuerter were all behind them. Eva grinned; they were at an advantage already! She pulled ahead a tiny bit more… _

**So, hello, I'm back! I'm sorry if this chapter was unsatisfying or seemed forced in anyway. While I was grounded, I got into my original stories more, and the thought of writing long chapters of this were overwhelming because what I really want to work on are my original stories. I have therefore decided to cut any long chapters in half to make it more manageable so I can work on this and my original stories without feeling like I'm neglecting either. **

**READ AND REVIEW!**


	26. The Avatar

Disclaimer: I don't own Oban Star-Racers

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Oban Star-Racers. Everything else belongs to me.

A/N: I'm really sorry about how long it took me to update this. The truth is that I just lost interest and started working on other stories (mostly originals) and that I entirely forgot about this. With Oban Star-Racers over, I just kind of moved on. But I decided that I couldn't just leave it unfinished. For anybody still interested in this fic this is the final chapter. I wouldn't be able to finish it properly, but I figured I could at least do this much. So, to anyone still reading this, enjoy if you can. It's probably really lame.

Moon and Star 

Ch.26: The Avatar

Remus spat a glob of blood out of his mouth and wiped the dirt off his face. His tongue throbbed where he bit it. Glaring up at Canaletto, he struggled to his knees. Debris was strewn everywhere, and several feet away he saw Aikka lying unconscious on the ground, his bow inches from his hand.

Eva was lifted off the ground by Canaletto's magic. Rage surged through Remus as he watched, listening to Canaletto gloat about he had used Eva from the beginning as if she was some sort of tool to use and then discard when no longer needed. The white ball of magic pulsed. Any second, Canaletto would touch that ball and become the Avatar. There was no way to stop him. …Or…was there…?

The thought that struck Remus was absurd. Would it even work? He glanced around, found a rock nearby and crawled over to use it as support to help him stand. He swayed unsteady before regaining balance.

He took a deep breath, trudging toward a rock jutting up from the floor. It was painful to move—when Canaletto had thrown him away from Eva, he had thrown him good—but he kept going. He didn't have long.

His eyes moved up the rock; it was perfectly placed. But then he noticed something he hadn't before: Jordan was struggling to the top, and he was almost there.

_No…_ Remus broke out into a run, ignoring the searing pain in his side. He scrambled up the rock. Jordan said something Remus could hear, and then he jumped. Remus bounded forward—his fingers just barely grabbed Jordan's shirt collar—and hauled him backward, using the momentum to fly over the edge.

"REMUS!" Eva screamed.

Remus twisted to look at her, smiled, and was suddenly blinded.

**-.oOOo.-**

Eva closed her eyes tightly, yet the light still seemed to seep through her eyelids to burn her eyes. What had happened? What was going on? What had Remus done?

"Come now, E, you know what I've done."

Eva's eyes shot open. "Remus!" Her mouth opened slightly in surprise. Standing in front of her was a beautiful wolf made of white fire with black eyes and nose. "Remus?"

The wolf chuckled. "Don't worry, it's me," it said, although its mouth didn't move.

"What did you do? Why did you do that?" she breathed. "Are you stupid?"

"Well, yes, maybe a little bit," Remus admitted. "But I couldn't let you do it."

"Why? This was _my_ responsibility. _I'm_ the one that won!" she cried.

"I know. But you just got your father back, you can go home and be a family, and have friends and just be a normal girl," Remus said. "That's what you've always wanted and now you can have it." He sighed, and Eva was silent as Remus seemed to gather his thoughts, tears stinging her eyes.

"You're my best friend, Eva. The best friend I've ever had, I admit. And I'll defiantly miss you. That is why I couldn't let you do this. I couldn't let everything you've worked so hard for, waited so long for, slip through your fingers because of a cruel trick. So, I did this for you.

"But I know that won't make you feel any better, look at it this way. You can have a family, friends, be a normal girl. But I'll never have any of that. I can't be a normal boy. There will always be people that will hunt me and my kind, and I…I'm tired, Eva." He laughed hollowly. "I'm fifteen, and I'm tired of trying to be killed! You'll get what you want, and I'll get what I want—safety, freedom."

The wolf closed its eyes and the form wavered for a moment before reverting to Remus, in his human form, standing only a few feet in front of her, smiling.

"I'm going to miss you, E. I promise I'll visit."

Eva opened and closed her mouth soundlessly for several seconds. Then she flung herself at Remus, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "You better."

"E…E, I can't breathe…"

"Oh." She pulled back. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Remus smiled for a moment and then frowned, cocking his head. He appeared to be listening to something. He jammed his hands into his pockets, looking at her solemnly. "It's time for you to go."

And Eva was once again blinded by the light.

**-.oOOo.-**

The water rippled in the breeze, reflecting the light cast by the setting sun as birds chirped, flying from one tree to another. Eva sat on a swing, swaying back and forth slightly. She stared at the ground.

It had been a year since Oban had ended. Stan and Koji were working as mechanics for her father, and Rick had started up his own racing school with Andraste and Agrona (Rick seemed to enjoy Agrona's sharp wit, and Andraste's ability to come up with complex flying scenarios for students to figure out). Jordan was working at a gun range and as it was his night to close up, he wouldn't get out until eight. She wasn't sure what Aikka was doing. Living on two different planets had made it difficult for them to contact each other. But the last she had heard, he was doing fine. The Lupanians had all gone to the reservation in Yellowstone, where they were protected; they didn't seem to mind the fact that they were living on an animal reserve—in fact, they seemed to enjoy it—and had kept in contact with her, making her promise to visit them.

She hadn't heard from Remus at all.

She glanced up, scowling bitterly at a duck floating from one end to the other. Visit indeed. She knew she should have asked when. As the months had dragged on, she had tried to tell herself that Remus was busy; he was the Avatar, after all, he had a whole galaxy to look after. For a time that had worked, but was he really so busy that he couldn't even send her a note?

She heard footsteps behind her; it was probably her father coming to get her for dinner. The footsteps stopped just behind her, there was a pause and then someone sat on the swing next to her. She didn't look at them.

"So…after all this time, you won't even look at me?"

Eva swung to her right, twisting the chains holding the swing around each other. Remus sat on the swing next to her, smiling. He looked tired, but happier than she had ever seen him and there was a familiar glint in his eye. He grinned mischievously.

"Hey, E. Want to cause some trouble?"

Eva was bursting to ask him a thousand questions. How was Oban? What was it like being the Avatar? Why hadn't he visited sooner? Instead she smiled. "I think I'd like that."

**A/N:** (sighs) This is so horrible, but I can't figure out how else to do it. Usually, the ending just kind of flows out of the rest of the story, but since I'm kinda skipping part of it, it didn't come out as well. But at least now it is done, and I can move on to other things with a clear conscious. From now on, I'm writing out the whole story and _then_ posting it. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this.

As usual, please review.


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